Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2026

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is rapidly gaining traction, and airport leaders are taking note and taking action. Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft are expanding beyond test flights to commercial use, and federal agencies are setting rules for powered-lift operations and vertiport design. Airport leaders now face real choices. Their planning today will shape how airfields function, how tenants operate and where revenue flows in the years ahead. Early operations will launch at existing airports and helipads where operators can rely on known infrastructure and procedures. That momentum is reflected in the market’s growth. Analysts estimate the sector’s global value at roughly $11 to $12 billion in 2024 with projections reaching between $65 and $130 billion by the early 2030s. North America currently holds about one third of that share driven by certification activity and investor appetite. More than 90 AAM infrastructure programs are now planned or underway across U.S. cities and airports. The aircraft are nearly ready. The next hurdle is figuring out where they’ll land. “For the first two or three years, there was – understandably – a high focus on the technology of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft,” says Kevin Cox, CEO of Vertiports by Atlantic . “Over the last two years, we’ve seen a transition to recognizing that if these aircraft are going to be commercially viable, they need commercially viable places to land.” The commercial clock is ticking. “Commercial AAM operations are within 12 months of starting up around the world,” says Philip Butterworth-Hayes, an industry market expert. “China and the Gulf States will be the first adopters followed later in 2026 or early 2027 with operations in the USA, according to industry and regulator updates. Then comes Europe.”

Butterworth-Hayes adds that regional strategies will take different paths. “In North America, 90 percent of first phase operations will be between existing airports and heliports, while in China, 90 percent will be between new-build vertiports.” Airports are expected to anchor the first wave. “Commercial airports are expected to serve as primary nodes in the AAM ecosystem,” says Gonzalo Velasco, director at Steer, a global infrastructure consultancy. “These airports already have security, passenger processing and ground transport infrastructure, making them logical integration points for AAM services. Their scale and resources position them to invest in vertiport infrastructure and collaborative partnerships with AAM operators.”

“This transition brings new business models, new roles and new expectations. The airports that act early will be positioned to lead.” – Gonzalo Velasco, director, Steer

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2026