Urban-Air Port Ltd (UAP) officially began construction of Air One, its groundbreaking infrastructure for advanced air mobility, to be showcased at a launch event on 25th April, in Coventry City Centre, the 2021 UK City of Culture.
Approaching one week into construction, the UAP team assembled on Friday 4th February, joined by Councillor Jim O’Boyle – Cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change and representatives from Coventry City Council: Colin Knight – Director, Transportation and Highways; John Seddon – Head of Transport and Innovation; and Sunil Budhdeo – Transport Innovation Manager, together with employees from Principal Contractor Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM). Also present were Kevin Vincent and Professor Paul Herriotts from Coventry University’s National Transport Design Centre.
Formal introductions to the construction team were followed by official meetings and an inspection of the site works, concluding with a photoshoot and an interview with Councillor Jim O’Boyle, who said:
“This is yet another way that Coventry is leading the way when it comes to transport innovation. We are right at the front of the green industrial revolution and this is a brilliant world first.
We’re pleased to be working with our partners at Urban-Air Port to showcase this breakthrough system, which in the near future could help to boost productivity in our towns and cities as well as supporting climate change efforts by taking vehicles off the roads.
Any company looking to really innovate in this transport revolution should look to work in Coventry – whether it’s Air One, a Gigafactory or Coventry Very Light Rail, Coventry is the best place, with the best skills to collaborate with.
One of the best things about Air One is that local schools will be able to visit, look round, and be inspired for what they can achieve.”
— Coventry City Councillor Jim O’Boyle
“We are absolutely thrilled to get Urban-Air Port’s Air One on site – this marks a unique and transformative moment where the UK positions itself as the world’s leading player in advanced air mobility. Our technology will enable Coventry and other cities around the country and the world to decarbonise by enabling safe adoption of cleaner mobility solutions. We are grateful to our partners, investors and the UK Government for adopting our vision and now making advanced air mobility a viable and sustainable reality.”
— Ricky Sandhu, Founder & Executive Chairman, Urban-Air Port
Coventry University’s National Transport Design Centre is focusing on understanding the customer journey and making the urban airport accessible to all, easy to navigate and a pleasure to use. They are also using immersive Virtual Reality to allow people to experience and contribute to the design of this innovative transport system of the future. Professor Stewart Birrell, Professor of Human Factors for Future Transport at Coventry University’s National Transport Design Centre, said:
“We are delighted to be teaming up with Urban-Air Port and Coventry City Council to help facilitate this hugely exciting and innovative future transport project. The chance to utilise our expertise and research knowledge in user-centred design to help shape this forward-thinking development is one we have relished and the anticipation and excitement will now continue to grow as we watch how the site progresses and comes to life in the coming weeks.”
— Professor Stewart Birrell, Professor of Human Factors for Future Transport at Coventry University’s National Transport Design Centre
The Air One site is positioned centrally within an area that is home to approx. 400,000 people living and working. With proximity to Coventry train station and intermodal transport links it has been identified as a perfect test bed location for this new form of technology.
Credit: Urban-Air Port
