Validation and demonstration activities are planned between March 2024 and December 2025 to test concepts and procedures being developed as part of the SESAR 3 EUREKA project. A live trial will be in the controlled airspace between Mallorca and Menorca Islands (Spain), within active LEPA and LEMH airports.
EUREKA project aims to create a network of vertiports—specialized hubs for Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft inside European airspace, connecting urban areas, and facilitating swift and eco-friendly transportation.
Led by Eurocontrol, the project features 35 participants include Airport Providers, Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), U-Space Service Providers (USSPs), UAM manufacturers and other stakeholders. Among participants, Unifly plays a pivotal role within the Vertiport Collaborative Traffic Management (VCTM) initiative, and will leverage its expertise to integrate vertiports into Unifly’s UTM solution. The project will use certified unmanned Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOLs) aircraft for cargo operations to validate VCTM at strategic, pre-tactical, and tactical levels, covering all VTOL flight segments.
The project focuses on developing four essential SESAR solutions:
- Arrival/Departure Procedures to/From Vertiports: Encompassing route and trajectory planning.
- Vertiport Collaborative Traffic Management: Optimizing
- resource utilization and capacity allocation.
- Vertiport Disruption and Emergency Management: Ensuring preparedness for unforeseen circumstances.
- Vertiport Network Flow, Capacity & Operational Management: Enabling efficient coordination across the vertiport network.
The EUREKA project aims to enable the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) accommodation in Europe and safe and autonomous UAM operations in all types of airspace with a special emphasis on a key enabler for the UAM operations: the Vertiport. The 3-year project is funded by SESAR3 Joint Undertaking.
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