Advanced air mobility (AAM) infrastructure specialist VPorts is to build a state-of-the-art vertiport at Ras Al Khaimah Airport (RAK) in the United Arab Emirates.
VPorts has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ras Al Khaimah Airport (RAK) to build and operate a vertiport, part of VPorts’ planned UAE advanced air mobility network.
‘‘With the support of the Department of Civil Aviation of Ras Al-Khaimah, we are excited to build and operate the first vertiport at Ras Al Khaimah Airport. This project will enable all AAM partners to accelerate the adoption and deployment of advanced air mobility in RAK and throughout the UAE,” said Dr Fethi Chebil, president and founder of VPorts.
“This project is aligned with RAK’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Strategy 2040 and with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, to achieve at least a 30% savings in electricity consumption and a 20% contribution from renewable energy by 2040,” said His Highness Eng. Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, chairman, Department of Civil Aviation, Ras Al-Khaimah. “We are committed to supporting the VPorts project and to enable AAM-related innovation and technology and know-how capacity building in the UAE and in RAK.”
VPorts’ initial growth strategy is based on the regional transportation of goods, tourism and the efficient movement of patients, organs for transplants and medical equipment. The RAK vertiport, which will be established on a 10,000m2 site, will be designed for all types of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. VPorts’ vertiports will be accessible to all eVTOLs manufacturers, the company stressed.
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.
Image: (from left to right): Dr Fethi Chebil, president and founder of VPorts; His Highness Eng. Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, chairman, Department of Civil Aviation, Ras Al-Khaimah; and Ralf Schustereder, CEO, Ras Al-Khaimah Airport. Courtesy of VPorts
