Maldives: 100 Island Hybrid Vertiport Network Planned

London – Regional Airports Company Limited (RACL) (a state-owned company of the Republic of Maldives) has partnered with Air Chateau DWC (a Dubai-based helicopter and vertiport operator), and Wings Capital Management of Abu Dhabi have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a network of 100 vertiports in the Maldives for drones and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL).

“Project Elevate Maldives” will include air taxi operations, commercial eVTOL passenger and cargo operations, terminal lounges and charging infrastructure. With around 200 resorts and 18 airports spread across around 1,200 islands, the Maldives exemplifies the potential for Island Air Mobility (IAM).

“At Air Chateau, we envision building 100 vertiports, including floating hybrid vertiports, in the Maldives by 2030 with an initial approach of building 50 in hub and spoke mode by 2028 covering the most densely populated atolls,” Wassaf Akhtar Mohammed, the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, told Zag Daily. “We have currently identified around 16 initial locations at local domestic airports and 12 islands for landings that are imminent for operations following approvals.”
Wassaf said Air Chateau sought to fully understand the nature of the market. “Our approach to modeling vertiport demand is based on historical data of traffic flows across all current modes of transport in the Maldives with the support of local partners RACL.”

Additionally, the MOU sets out intentions to build more than 500 drone ports for cargo operations to support first and last mile logistics.