Advanced Air Mobility

Regional Collaboration

To begin the effort, the city convened transportation agencies, local governments, and private stakeholders in several working group sessions to provide an overview of the current state of AAM development, discuss regional transportation and environmental challenges and opportunities. The feedback from the regional community helped inform our understanding of the possible impacts associated with AAM not only within city limits but regionally.

Concurrent with the regional stakeholder working groups, we, in partnership with our consultant, VHB, analyzed the initial transportation and environmental considerations, and the opportunities that may occur because of passenger AAM operations in Central Florida as well as to summarize relevant technical information regarding airspace regulations, state and federal policies and regulations, and vertiport design considerations. Finally, to understand the possible economic impacts associated with a Vertiport, an Economic Impact Analysis of a conceptual downtown urban vertiport was also completed.

“Orlando strives to take a lead role in understanding the role for local government in Advanced Air Mobility and we hope to be a model city for others to follow." - Mayor Buddy Dyer

Recognizing that it will take a close review of local policies to enable sustainable and equitable AAM implementation within the City of Orlando, we are currently undergoing a thorough review of the policy framework that is needed to support future AAM operations within the city limits, with a focus on ground infrastructure and community impact.

On December 5, 2023 more than 100 transportation professionals, private industry representatives, and aviation stakeholders from across Florida and the U.S. gathered at the Orlando City Hall to help pave the way for advanced air mobility (AAM) via the first tabletop planning workshop for vertiports. During this workshop, the group collaborated to address the implementation and regulatory framework of future eVTOL aircraft.

The vertiport workshop was attended by federal agencies and transportation industry partners, including representatives from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Greater Orlando Airport Authority (GOAA), Kissimmee Airport, AAM facilitators, and the City of Orlando. Participants learned more about the emerging field of AAM, which also includes unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) such as electric drone technologies for package delivery, environmental monitoring, and emergency response. VHB aviation and transportation planners led the groups through a discussion about different vertiport planning scenarios. The information gathered at the event will help inform new vertiport standards in the city’s land development code.

A copy of the materials presented by the FAA, FDOT, GOAA and City of Orlando can be found here(PDF, 15MB). Final findings and lessons learned from the tabletop exercise are still in review but will be posted on this page as available.

NASA Partnership – Community Integration

The City of Orlando was one of five government entities (and the only municipality) selected to participate in NASA’s new AAM aero-research partnership, an initiative that allows NASA’s aeronautical innovators to work with participating governments to define what it means to be a sustainable, resilient community with AAM as a significant new mode of public transportation. In collaboration with the government cohort, NASA and the University of California, Berkley published the Advanced Air Mobility Community Integration Considerations Playbook. The purpose of this document is to serve as a practical resource that can help provide initial information to inform local, regional, state, and tribal planning for AAM. The national partners included:

• City of Orlando
• Massachusetts DOT
• Minnesota DOT
• North Central Texas Council of Governments.
• Ohio DOT

Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)

The City of Orlando participated as a member of the FDOT Advanced Air Mobility Working Group (AAMWG) established in 2022. The AAMWG was composed of 50 stakeholders from various agencies including FDOT officials and consultants, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), local governments, and other industry stakeholders. Over the course of four working sessions held across the state, the Working Group identified four key areas of focus for the implementation of AAM: Public Education and Community Engagement; Infrastructure and Zoning; System Planning and Access; and Airspace and Safety.

The wAAMWG developed a report which examines the different roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments and provided recommendations based on those roles. Recommendations were developed for each area of focus and grouped based on the categories: Legislative, Regulatory, Advisory, and Local Government. A copy of the report as well as additional FDOT AAM resources can be found on the State’s AAM portal: Advanced Air Mobility (fdot.gov)

World Economic Forum’s Advanced and Urban Aerial Mobility Cities and Regions Coalitions

The City of Orlando is a founding member of the World Economic Forum’s Advanced and Urban Aerial Mobility Cities and Regions Coalitions, which launched in March 2022 and brings together cities and regions at the forefront of advanced air mobility to collaborate and share expertise to develop a range of solutions that other cities and regions can adopt based on their own circumstances.

Founding city and region members include:

• Amsterdam
• Massachusetts
• Orlando
• Los Angeles
• Île-de-France (Paris region)
• Sao Paulo

Greater Orlando Aviation Authority

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority operates both the Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Orlando Executive Airport (ORL). As the chief aviation authority within Central Florida the long-standing partnership between GOAA and the city has been critical to achieving the successful aviation expansion and multi-modal integration that has occurred at MCO over the past decades. As the industry evolves, the Aviation Authority continues look to create opportunities to seamlessly connect Florida and the world. Identified as an area of focus in the 2023 Strategic Plan and through community outreach, innovation, including the integration of AAM will play a key role in the future development of airport assets – ensuring the region remains a global destination where everyone can thrive.