Modern Life: What is a vertiport? By Richard Godwin

A vertiport is where our flying cars will come in to roost in the not-too-distant- future. Yes, that’s right: actual flying cars, as in The Jetsons or Back to the Future II – only cheap, sustainable, environmentally friendly, and available at the push of the button. You laugh, but the UK’s first vertiport is taking shape as we speak. It’s in Bicester, henceforth known as Futuropolis 1. The company behind it, Skyports (not to be confused with Sky Sports), describes it as a ‘a major step for UK aviation innovation’. So, first Bicester, then, well, Reading, Aldershot, Bracknell, Didcot, Yateley...? The sky is literally the limit. If this still sounds fanciful, well, as Ira Gershwin had it, ‘They all laughed at Wilbur and his brother/ When they said that man could fly.’ And eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) technology has come on in leaps and bounds. We already have...

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