The UK is building the world’s first airport... for flying cars

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Or is it a flying car coming in to land at the world’s first-ever airport built specifically for electric flying vehicles?

It might sound like something out of a science-fiction film, but this airport is actually being readied for November 2021 near the UK city of Coventry.

The Air-One facility will be open for just one month, and is a collaboration between government agencies, private-sector businesses and the aviation industry. It has been developed by Urban Air Port, with the involvement of the Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group and Coventry City Council.

The company chose that location as the first site because Coventry is the center of the UK and a historical hub for the aerospace and automobile industries. It sees the region as a hotbed for people with skills to support the future’s manufacturing industries as urban air mobility takes off. Plus, the city’s centralized location provides easy access to most parts of the country within four hours.

We are already a city that is helping to shape the future of electric transport, and this is yet another ground-breaking project that puts Coventry at the forefront of new technologies. It highlights how the council is working alongside a range of organizations to help shape a better, greener future", says Gary Cutts, Future Flight Challenge director.

The project won the Government’s Future Flight Challenge and received a £1.2 million grant. And the city became a part of an urban air mobility partnership with UK Government backing. Air-One’s award-winning aviation infrastructure and system will enable the next generation of autonomous and electric air vehicles to flourish.

The new zero-emission airport is part of a global drive to revolutionize urban transport. Aircraft can land and recharge there, cutting air pollution, reducing congestion, and contributing to a zero-carbon future. The project is backed by Coventry City Council and Hyundai Motor Group, which is developing commercialized flying vehicles to be ready by 2028.

Urban Air Port aims to install over 200 similar sites worldwide by 2025, so Coventry airport is the first of many. These compact airports can be easily dismantled and reassembled, so they can also be used for disaster and emergency relief.