A scheme that aims to build air corridors and ground infrastructure for flying taxis and autonomous drones has today received government support.

The backing follows a partnership of Urban-Air Port with aviation technology company Altitude Angel and vertiport platform developer Safeguard Vertiports.

The coalition is dedicated to delivering the technologies and regulation needed to build the ‘air infrastructure’ required for future green mobility.

The technologies, which are planned to be demonstrated in Coventry later this year at the first of more than 200 ‘Urban-Air Port’ hubs worldwide, aim to connect urban centres and under-served communities.

Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: “Cleaner, inter-city flight technology is vital not only to reducing emissions, but to better connecting remote communities, from small towns in the UK to isolated settlements all around the world.

“As we build back greener from the pandemic, initiatives like the government-backed Air-One project will help us develop the infrastructure needed to make our dreams of flying taxis a reality.”

Ricky Sandhu, Founder of Urban-Air Port, said: “Our global transport systems are broken. Inner-city transport is congested, inefficient and polluted.

“In remote locations, it is either non-existent or over-priced, leaving many isolated and increasing economic disparity. But to fix this, we still look to siloed and ancient road and rail infrastructure.”