Europe lays down world’s first design specs for drone taxi vertiports

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has become the first air transport safety regulator in the world to offer technical design guidance to urban planners and eVTOL manufacturers looking to build drone taxi vertiports across Europe.

In a document titled “Prototype Technical Design Specifications for Vertiports,” EASA describes in detail the physical characteristics of a vertiport, the required obstacle environment, visual aids, lights and markings, as well as concepts for en-route alternate vertiports for continued safe flight and landing. Special attention has been paid to congested urban environments in the document since many drone taxi vertiports will be built within or close to European cities.

One notable innovation in EASA’s guidance is the concept of a funnel-shaped area above the vertiport, designated as an “obstacle-free volume.” The agency explains:

This concept is tailored to the operational capabilities of the new VTOL…