Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Canadian startup Vports to build Ras Al Khaimah’s first vertiport

By Pramod Kumar
Vports
The signing of the MoU between Ras Al-Khaimah Airport and Vports

Canada’s urban air mobility startup Vports is expanding its reach across the UAE as the country moves ahead to make advanced air mobility a reality. 

Vports signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Airport to build and operate the first vertiport in the emirate as an advanced air mobility (AAM) hub.

The RAK vertiport, established on a 10,000 sq m site, will be designed for all types of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. All eVTOLs manufacturers will be allowed to use the vertiport.

By 2030, VPorts plans to extend its vertiport network to all major industrial areas across the UAE, providing a sustainable transportation solution via eVTOL aircraft. The network will focus on locations that optimise multimodal transportation connectivity, including Ras Al Khaimah, Dubai South, Jebel Ali, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

“We look forward to collaborating with each and every emirate to define the location of dedicated vertiports as well as safety and security regulations, flight corridors, urban integration and business community engagement for this important undertaking,” said Dr Fethi Chebil, president and founder of VPorts.

In December 2022 VPorts signed a 25-year lease agreement with the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub to establish an integrator centre on a 37,000-square-metre site within Dubai South. 

Development and construction of the centre will start in 2023. The first flight test will be conducted in 2024.

Last month Dubai Roads and Transport Authority said that flying taxis will become operational in the emirate by 2026, with “vertiports” initially connecting downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, Dubai International Airport and Palm Jumeirah.

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority issued the world’s first national vertiport regulation in December 2022. It covers the design and operation of vertiports – areas of land, water or structures used for vertical take-off and landing aircraft. 

The regulation is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2023.

Latest articles

STC wants to consolidate the mobile tower market

STC approves PIF purchase of telecom company

Shareholders of Saudi telecom giant STC have approved plans to create a new telecommunications infrastructure company in which the Public Investment Fund will have a 51 percent stake valued at SAR8.7 billion ($2.3 billion).  Under the deal, the STC-owned Telecommunication Towers Co. Limited (Tawal) will become a PIF subsidiary through a merger with Golden Lattice […]

Flavio Cattaneo of Enel, of which Endesa is a subsidiary, and Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi at the signing of the deal

Masdar buys stake in Spanish utilities company Endesa

The UAE’s state-owned clean energy company Masdar has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Spanish electric utility business Endesa to partner for 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy assets in Spain. Under the agreement, subject to regulatory approval, Masdar will invest nearly $890 million to acquire a 49.99 percent stake in Endesa, with an […]

UAE markets Hong Kong

UAE capital markets partner with Hong Kong exchange

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) has added the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) to its roster of recognised marketplaces. The move opens the door for UAE-based companies to pursue secondary listings on one of Asia’s premier financial markets. It also follows the inclusion of the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) […]

Person, Worker, Adult

Aramco and PIF invest in Saudi-Chinese steel venture

Saudi Aramco and the Public Investment Fund have doubled their investment in a steel plate joint venture with a Chinese company to $500 million. The two Saudi companies each own 25 percent shares in the new venture in Ras Al Khair industrial city, Bloomberg reported, quoting a statement published on the Chinese stock exchange. Chinese […]