Advanced Air Mobility Vertiport Considerations: A List and Overview

This paper consolidates over 450 considerations for siting, designing, and operating advanced air mobility vertiports. It covers regulatory, physical, environmental, economic, safety, and operational facets, providing a foundational knowledge resource for researchers, planners, and industry stakeholders engaging in vertiport development under evolving aviation frameworks.<!-- notionvc: 9c9c6ef2-ddd6-4fbf-9467-d85b08ea8b58 -->

The white paper "Advanced Air Mobility Vertiport Considerations: A List and Overview" presents a comprehensive compilation of more than 450 factors essential to planning, designing, and operating vertiports supporting advanced air mobility (AAM). Emerging as a transformative subset of aviation, AAM employs small, often electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft servicing metropolitan areas. Vertiports—new infrastructure for these aircraft—pose unique challenges absent in traditional heliport or airport planning, requiring multidisciplinary expertise.

Organized into 18 thematic groupings, the considerations span regulatory frameworks at federal, state, tribal, and local levels, physical site constraints (both fixed and temporary), surrounding land uses, vertiport configuration, airspace integration, environmental impacts, and community equity.

Additional domains include communication/data systems, security (physical, cyber, airspace), utilities, safety, contingency management, automation, economic viability, and cross-domain strategic concerns.

The document highlights regulatory complexities, noting that most vertiports will operate under less stringent Part 135 FAA regulations rather than Part 139 airport certifications, creating challenges in oversight and public acceptance. It underscores the need for standardized terminology, coordination with existing infrastructure, and the implications of performance uncertainties of eVTOL aircraft on vertiport geometry and airspace design.

Equity considerations emphasize inclusive access and fair distribution of benefits and burdens. Environmental factors account for climate change resilience and compliance with NEPA. Economic discussions involve cost, revenue, demand elasticity, and strategic public-private partnerships. Safety is addressed through Risk Management Systems and pilot education. Automation and integration considerations identify future growth areas.

By consolidating multidisciplinary expert insights from NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility Ecosystem Working Groups, this paper forms a living framework to guide stakeholders in this rapidly evolving field.

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