Skyports expands UK vertiport network with acquisition of London heliport located close to city’s Canary Wharf district
Skyports has announced the acquisition of a heliport in east London, which is one of only two operational in the city and within minutes of the Canary Wharf business district.
The deal forms part of Skyports’ acquisition strategy in securing, developing and operating a network of vertiports to enable the transition to emission-free aviation in the UK. The company foresees the launch of fully-electric commercial air taxis in the country within the next few years and the heliport site — previously known as the Falcon Heliport — will form an integral part of Skyports’ ground infrastructure network.
Damian Kysely, Head of Europe & Middle East at Skyports, said: “This is an exciting moment for Skyports. The acquisition demonstrates our ambition to deliver a network of operational landing sites for eVTOLs and our commitment to making the UK a leader in de-carbonisation of domestic aviation.
“The heliport also provides us with an important live operating environment in which we can safely develop and test our vertiport systems, collect operational data and mature our vertiport technologies.”
The heliport will continue its existing operations under the new name of ‘Skyports London Heliport’, solely serving the existing helicopter market until the mid-2020s, by which point Skyports anticipates repurposing and equipping the heliport with facilities required to also enable the operation of fully-electric eVTOL aircraft. Skyports has already started using the heliport for testing of its vertiport systems.
The transition to eVTOL aircraft, which are quieter, greener and cheaper than traditional helicopters, will unlock new routes from the heliport to other parts of London and the rest of the UK. Passengers travelling from Canary Wharf will be able to hop on an eVTOL and reach all of London’s airports within 20 minutes, or fly to Bristol in under 50 minutes.