Skyports Infrastructure and Wisk Aero are expanding their partnership to identify an Entry-into-Service (EIS) network for Wisk’s autonomous Generation 6 aircraft in the South East Queensland (SEQ) region of Australia.
The latest agreement builds on an existing partnership between Wisk and Skyports announced in 2022, which marked the first collaboration between a vertiport developer-operator and an autonomous eVTOL developer.
The new partnership furthers Wisk’s work with the Council of Mayors (SEQ), which began in 2022 to work together to introduce safe, sustainable, and scalable, autonomous air taxi service to South East Queensland. As part of the new agreement, Wisk and Skyports will collaborate to determine locations for a viable vertiport network for SEQ.
The region is undergoing rapid and extensive development ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and is already home to 4 million people, set to increase by 50% over the next 20 years.
Wisk and Skyports’ partnership will identify opportunities for the safe development and scale-up of AAM services to complement other transport investments, support tourism, and connect communities across the region.
Working collaboratively, Wisk and Skyports will undertake a complex analysis of regional travel patterns, identify candidate vertiport sites, conduct feasibility studies, and engage with prospective landlords and nearby communities.
This last step is vital to the successful introduction of Wisk’s urban air taxi service. The ultimate goal of this project is the development of a thorough business case to support the development of the necessary vertiport infrastructure.
Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports, commented; “We’re pleased to publicly announce the work we are undertaking with Wisk to facilitate the launch of AAM services on Australia’s eastern coast.
“This collaboration will leverage our combined expertise to develop a robust, scalable infrastructure network to enable safe, efficient air taxi services for communities and visitors across the South East Queensland region.”
Brian Yutko, Wisk CEO, said; “Skyports has already been a strong partner to Wisk, and we are proud to build on the work we’re doing already, this time in Australia. Wisk is committed to bringing safe, emissions-free aviation to Queensland, and this partnership will get us one step closer to making our goal a reality.”
