The UK’s first vertiport testbed for developing the next generation of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is being launched at a 444-acre estate in Oxfordshire.

The facility will include a compact 160 square metre passenger terminal and will be used to test ground infrastructure and flight operations.

Skyports Infrastructure, the firm behind the project, has previously launched two services to deliver vital supplies to remote Scottish islands using drones: the first in 2020 delivering PPE and coronavirus test kits, and then a contract with Royal Mail last year.

The new vertiport will be positioned next to existing general aviation grass runways owned by aviation firm Bicester Motion.

The compact terminal, which is only 0.42 acres, has been designed to demonstrate the ‘efficient nature’ of vertiport infrastructure. eVTOLs will be used in dense urban environments that will require compact landing areas. In July, visitors at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will be able...