Although the MAIA project officially concluded in 2025, its legacy continues through new scientific outputs that further advance research on sustainable and innovative airport access solutions.
A recent open-access publication, titled “A support to vertiport micro-location selection at airport for urban air mobility airport shuttle service”, has been published in the Journal of Urban Mobility. The paper explores one of the key challenges for the deployment of Urban Air Mobility (UAM): determining the optimal placement of vertiports within airport environments. The full publication is available here:
Vertiports, dedicated infrastructure for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, are expected to play a crucial role in enabling future airport shuttle services. However, while previous research has mainly focused on identifying general areas for vertiports, this study addresses a more complex and less explored question: where exactly within an airport these facilities should be located.
The paper introduces a decision-support framework designed from the perspective of airport operators. It evaluates potential vertiport locations based on key criteria such as safety, capacity, cost, and accessibility, and ranks candidate sites using a structured, multi-criteria approach.
In addition, the authors developed a Vertiport Sizing and Capacity Tool, which allows stakeholders to assess different infrastructure configurations and better understand trade-offs between space, performance, and investment costs.
The framework is demonstrated through a case study at Madrid Airport, highlighting how different placement choices can significantly impact operational efficiency and passenger accessibility. The findings underline the importance of precise, data-driven planning when integrating new mobility solutions into complex airport systems.
This publication reflects the continued relevance of MAIA’s work in supporting the integration of emerging mobility solutions into transport systems. By addressing critical infrastructure planning challenges, it contributes valuable knowledge for policymakers, airport operators, and researchers working towards the implementation of efficient, safe, and sustainable urban air mobility services.