With eVTOLs poised to enter service in the next 18 to 24 months, FBO providers Atlantic Aviation and Signature Aviation are actively working to stand up vertiport infrastructure for advanced air mobility (AAM) services, company officials said yesterday at the NBAA regional forum in Orlando, Florida. Both companies are seeking to build city-center vertiports while also adapting their FBOs to handle electric aircraft.

“The goal is to build vertiports where the people are,” said Kevin Cox, CEO of Vertiports by Atlantic, a newly created subsidiary following Atlantic’s acquisition last month of vertiport developer Ferrovial. “We’re leading the way in vertiport development and now have four leases in Florida to build vertiports in city environments. AAM isn’t a matter of if, but when, and that when is within two years.”

Cox said vertiport sites can be as small as one or as large as two to three acres. “We’ll start with vertiports in big metro cities and then filter down to medium cities,” he added.

Signature CEO Tony Lefebvre said his company is not interested in converting downtown parking garages into vertiports, explaining, “This is not our core competency.” The company’s current emphasis is adapting its FBOs for eVTOL operations, he noted.

Both said they’re taking an “agnostic” approach to electric aircraft charging infrastructure, though Lefebvre would like to see OEMs commit to a common charging system.