Zaragoza: site of what would be Europe’s first urban vertiport

A convenient spot for the landing and taking off of drones delivering goods, and even transporting people

Earlier this month, the Zaragoza City Council announced that it has issued a permit for the provisional occupation of a land lot at the southern parking area of the Expo, with the aim of creating a vertiport there. Vertiport is the term for a hub allowing the landing and taking off of flying vehicles, such as VTOLs (air taxis) and drones.

The allocated space has a surface of 7,500 square metres and a lease permit for a legal term of 10 years. The future hub has also been described by media sources as Europe’s first vertiport located in an urban context. It will be developed as part of the European Commission-supported project for urban air mobility – U-ELCOME.

Zaragoza – a benchmark of urban air transport?

The Spanish city has lofty aims in becoming a pioneer in the European context of urban air transportation. What attests to that ambition is the fact that the Expo’s southern parking lot has already been hosting a training and testing ground for drones, Hera Drone Hub, which was also the first of its kind on the continent. So, what follows, will in essence be an upgrade in capabilities and scope of infrastructure with the creation of a fully-fledged vertiport for unmanned aircraft.

The vertiport can enable and boost both urban and regional mobility by opening low-altitude air corridors to transport passengers and goods. It seeks to position itself optimally and take advantage of the constant development in unmanned technology. The creation of the hub would provide new means for efficient and sustainable intermodal transport, shortening travel times drastically in the process.

The geographical location of the city is beneficial for the development of such a holistic project as industries, such as energy, automotive and logistics, are all operational on its territory.