Use case · Airport integration
Integrating Advanced Air Mobility at Existing Airports
The fastest way to bring advanced air mobility into service is not to build a new network from scratch — it is to start where aviation already works. Existing airports have airspace procedures, security, fuel logistics, and ground access in place; what they need is a practical way to add vertical-lift operations alongside what they already run.
New mode, old master plan
Airports run on long capital-planning cycles, and their master plans were written around fixed-wing traffic. Adding eVTOL operations raises immediate questions: where do vertical-lift aircraft stage without interfering with runway and taxiway flows, how do passengers and cargo transfer between modes, and how does a new class of aircraft coexist with scheduled airline service?
Conventional construction compounds the problem. A permanent vertiport on airport property can take years of environmental review, permitting, and building — long enough that the demand picture may shift before the facility opens. Meanwhile the energy question looms: electric and hydrogen aircraft need charging and refueling capacity that most airfields were never designed to supply.
Plan AAM into the airfield, not around it
SkyPAATH™, LuftCar's AI planning platform, plans demand-based AAM routes across citywide and statewide networks while explicitly accounting for existing airports — large and small — and heliports, so new corridors extend the current aviation system rather than competing with it. Its integrated vertiport design covers comprehensive infrastructure for regional airports and urban centers: warehouses for cargo eVTOLs, facilities for regional transport and air taxis, and refueling across SAF, hydrogen, and battery charging.
Add vertiport capacity without a construction program
SkyBase™ is LuftCar's modular vertiport infrastructure, and its configurations map directly onto airport needs: the Urban configuration turns a building top, parking structure, or temporary site into a certified landing zone in hours, while the Regional configuration provides a terminal with multiple bays supporting simultaneous operations, integrated power, and smart sensing. On the civil side, SkyBase™ is built to serve as an airport AAM integration node supporting last-mile connectivity for major commercial airports.
Work with the operators already on the field
LuftCar is actively engaging fixed-base operators across the United States as strategic partners for early deployment, on the premise that existing airport infrastructure is an ideal foundation for AAM operations and that vertiport services can integrate with the services airports already provide. The company has also signed MOUs with two airports in Germany, with planned demonstrations spanning last-mile cargo delivery, regional transportation, hydrogen refueling, and cohabitation with commercial airline operations.
Frequently asked questions
Can eVTOL aircraft operate at existing airports?
Yes. Airports already have controlled airspace, approach procedures, and ground handling, which makes them natural early sites for vertical-lift operations. The main additions are designated landing areas sited clear of runway flows and procedures for sequencing new aircraft types with existing traffic.
What does an airport need to add to support AAM operations?
A landing surface appropriate to the aircraft, charging or refueling capacity, and a way to move passengers and cargo between the vertiport and the terminal. Modular vertiport systems package these elements as deployable units, which avoids committing to permanent construction while demand is still forming.
Why start an AAM network at airports rather than in city centers?
Airports shorten the path to service: land, security, utilities, and aviation procedures already exist, and last-mile connections to major airports are among the clearest early demand cases. City-center sites typically follow once routes and ridership are proven.
Related use cases
How eVTOL aircraft change cargo and last-mile delivery: heavy-payload airframes, patented air-to-road docking, and vertiport freight facilities.
AAM Infrastructure Planning for State DOTs and CitiesHow state DOTs and cities plan AAM infrastructure: statewide demand forecasting, air corridor optimization, and vertiport siting with digital-twin models.