(Telestock) – In 2027 Lombardy will inaugurate local flying taxi traffic, which will shuttle between Malpensa airport and the centre of Milan. The memorandum signed by Sea, the company that manages the Milan Linate and Malpensa airports, the Bavarian startup Lilium and Skyports Infrastructure lays the foundations for the development of a network of vertiports for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft destined to progressively extend from Lombardy to northern Italy. An expansion plan that involves in a joint venture, in addition to Sea and Skyports Infrastructure, also 2i Aeroporti shareholder of the Milanese operator. 2i Aeroporti itself participated in the capital increase of Skyports in 2022.
For the construction of the first 4 vertiports investments of just over 30 million euros are planned. A key enabling factor for the entire project is the partnership with ENAC, which has published a complete national regulation – the first of its kind in Europe – for VTOL aircraft, positioning Italy as a leader in the introduction of Innovative Air Mobility in Europe. The choice to start the project in Lombardy is due to the presence in the region of almost a fifth of the Italian population and over 37 million visitors every year.
Numbers representing the assumptions for local air mobility to be successful by ensuring faster and low-emission travel between major locations. The air taxi developed by Lilium, whose operations will have to be authorised by EASA for use in European skies, is capable of carrying 2 to 7 people, at a speed of up to 300 kilometres per hour and a range of up to 190 kilometres.