A new consortium of British aviation companies have been awarded government funding to demonstrate the commercial and operational viability of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM).

Vertical Aerospace, Virgin Atlantic, Atkins, Skyports and NATS, along with Connected Places Catapult and leading academic institutions Cranfield University and WMG, University of Warwick, have announced the creation of the consortium. Together, the organisations will develop key technology and infrastructure in a project that will significantly accelerate the introduction of AAM in the UK.

The consortium has been awarded a £9.5 million grant by the UK Government's Future Flight Challenge to develop the essential building blocks of a viable AAM ecosystem that has the potential to be progressed into full commercial operations. 

The project hopes to demonstrate the feasibility of a UK AAM ecosystem using Vertical Aerospace's emission-free VX4 eVTOL aircraft, operated by Virgin Atlantic.

Two physical flights will take place between Bristol Airport to an airfield in South West England, and between London Heathrow Airport and the Living Lab vertiport. A third simulation flight will demonstrate urban connectivity between London City and Bristol airports.

These demonstrations will explore key aspects of the passenger journey, vehicle operation, airspace navigation, ground charging, security provision and local stakeholder engagement. The two-year project will be overseen by aerospace engineering experts Atkins as consortium lead.

AAM offers a new form of travel, enabling cost-effective connectivity into congested urban areas and across regions under-served by existing infrastructure.

The UK Government Future Flight Challenge forecast that the introduction of AAM services will increase UK GDP by 1.8 per cent by 2030 and support the government's Levelling Up and Net Zero agendas, reflecting the productivity and wider economic benefits of increased connectivity.

James Richmond, head of Advanced Air Mobility at Atkins, said: "This is an exciting leap forward for AAM. This project brings together experts from across the industry to maintain the UK's leading position in the future of aviation, moving us closer to commercial operations that will connect regions and contribute to the UK's net zero targets."

Skyports will build and operate a "Living Lab" vertiport to create a testbed for ground, passenger and air operations for the project duration.

Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports, said: "Just as airports are critical to commercial aeroplane travel, vertiports are critical to AAM. Our Living Lab will be a central component of the consortium, enabling Skyports and partners to demonstrate end-to-end operations and test the complexities of developing a commercially viable AAM network in the UK."

Holly Boyd-Boland, VP Corporate Development at Virgin Atlantic, said: "We are thrilled to be working alongside our consortium partners to accelerate the introduction of zero emission flight to UK customers."