A new transport option is set to take off in south-east Queensland, with the Gold Coast signing an agreement with Skyports Infrastructure to explore a network of air taxi take-off and landing sites across the city.
Mayor Tom Tate, who recently visited the company in Dubai, said Skyports would build three or four “vertiports” across the city on council land.
“It’s no longer science fiction, it is reality, and I want the Gold Coast to be at the forefront of this transport revolution,” Tate said.
Under the scheme, electric flying taxis would ferry passengers across the city. A trip from Gold Coast Airport to Broadbeach, typically about 45 minutes by car, could be reduced to as little as five to seven minutes by air.
But while enthusiastic about the potential of the new technology, which he called the “future of transport”, Tate still had some doubts – particularly if and when they became automated.
“I’m more confident, comfortable, if someone’s driving it,” he said.
Skyports Asia-Pacific head Yun Yuan Tay said the locations discussed with the council were commercial in confidence, so could not be disclosed. But he said they would be in “very high demand” locations within the Gold Coast city limits and could connect with other parts of south-east Queensland.
“If it’s in a city centre, it’s going to be small, compact and fit into the landscape,” he said.
“If it’s somewhere on the outskirts, it can be much bigger, so we will have to do our proper due diligence and analysis on how big they have to be.”
Tay said the construction of vertiports typically took between 12 and 18 months.
“It’s quite simple – it’s pouring concrete, pouring asphalt onto the ground for the aircraft to land,” he said.
“Then you need charging facilities for the aircraft to recharge. You need the proper firefighting system for electric battery fires, in case you need them. You need a really small, compact terminal, because you don’t want people to linger.
“This is an air taxi service, where people get in, check in and go straight to the aircraft. So it’s a small, 100-square-metre terminal for people to just linger for five to 10 minutes, and that’s basically it.”
Tay said Skyports would operate the vertiports, not the flying taxis that used them. As such, they would not have direct control over pricing, although Tay said Skyports was in discussion with several operators.
“With any new technology, the fares will usually start a bit higher for the premium passengers, and then over time, as we scale and increase volume and aircraft in the city, we hope to bring it down to somewhere between an Uber Black or luxury car service,” he said.
Tay said aviation company Joby had just last week commenced piloted flights at the company’s Downtown Skyport in Manhattan.
“It was not just one flight – it was five flights in to our heliport, in front of the public, in front of the media, in front of influencers,” he said.
“They were very confident of the aircraft and I think, in time to come, they will get the aircraft certified, bring them to Australia, get certified by CASA [the Civil Aviation Safety Authority], and also fly in Gold Coast City as well.”
The memorandum of understanding between the council and Skyport was signed on Tuesday in the City of Gold Coast chambers.
The deal built on Skyports’ separate March agreement with Alt Air and EVE Air Mobility to prepare for eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) operations across NSW and Queensland, marking the addition of a government partner to accelerate the program.
Tate said the agreement would help ensure the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy was not just confined to stadiums and sporting fields, “but also transport improvements for the future”.
Australian firm Skyportz, not to be confused with Skyports, has planned an air taxi manufacturing hub at Petrie, north of Brisbane.
