SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The first international electric, advanced air mobility (AAM) corridor between Syracuse Hancock International Airport and Quebec is under development.

VPorts, a Mirabel, Québec–based firm, is developing the corridor project. VPorts specializes in the design, construction, and operation of advanced AAM infrastructure, per a Nov. 29 release from the Syracuse airport.

The corridor stretches from the Syracuse airport to the VPort vertiport in Mirabel, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal.

As described in the release, the corridor will “foster the establishment of an AAM ecosystem that will provide a platform” for full commercial, cargo-transport operations using electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, or what the company described as “large, helicopter-sized drones” capable of transporting commercial cargo and people. 

The first eVTOL aircraft test flights are planned for 2023.

A consortium of international organizations including VPorts; Syracuse–based NUAIR; Syracuse Hancock International Airport; Aéro Montréal; Innovitech; the Unmanned Aerial System Centre of Excellence (Alma); and Helijet International have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish international electric AAM corridors between Québec and the U.S.

NUAIR is short for Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, Inc. The nonprofit focuses on UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems) operations, aeronautical research, safety management, and consulting services. A UAS includes a drone and equipment used to control its flight. A drone is also referred to in the industry as an uncrewed aerial vehicle, or UAV.

“The aim of the corridors is to build an AAM ecosystem that will provide a platform for full commercial cargo transport operations using eVTOLs,” Fethi Chebil, president and founder of VPorts, said. “They will allow the consortium’s members to explore all aspects of AAM, including goods transportation, charging readiness, stakeholder management, business cases, security and safety protocols, social acceptability and urban integration of infrastructure and operations. Many companies and organizations rapidly investing in these related new capabilities are present in Central New York State today with good prospects of growth, and others are likely to be attracted to the region.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced that the state will be providing NUAIR with an additional $21 million in “Central New York Rising” Upstate Revitalization Initiative funding. NUAIR will use the funding to continue its work and focus on the UAS and AAM industry hub in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley. 

The additional money will allow for infrastructure testing and deployment to enable advanced industry applications, state agency adoption of UAS, AAM development, and associated workforce development. 

Economic benefits

A recent study by Washington, D.C.–based NEXA Capital Partners, LLC estimates that the full expansion of UAS and AAM-related industries to Central New York could create over 8,100 full-time jobs by 2040. Such an expansion could also incrementally generate over $1.3 billion in direct, indirect, and induced economic benefits. 

That includes direct effects of investment in the region of up to $130 million, the indirect effects of household earnings of workers, and the induced effects of value-added benefits and additional industry earnings. 

This impact on the region “will produce jobs for an emerging knowledge-based economic sector, with highly skilled workers sourced in part by existing New York State university institutions,” per the announcement.

“There are currently over 5,000 underutilized regional airports throughout the United States,” NUAIR CEO Ken Stewart said. “The development of this international AAM corridor between Syracuse … and Montreal will help lay the foundation for regional air mobility (RAM) operations for those underutilized airports, assisting with cargo deliveries and strengthening United States supply chains. NUAIR will build on the foundation of its 50-mile UAS corridor, and UAS traffic management (UTM) systems and our work with NASA on Vertiport Automation Systems to integrate this next generation aircraft into America’s national airspace system.”

Syracuse airport officials say becoming a partner in creating the AAM corridor will “allow underserved communities a new transportation alternative” that will reconnect those communities and provide additional economic opportunities for its members.

“This undertaking, which will sustainably connect communities in Upstate New York and beyond, firmly aligns with the SRAA’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the electrification of transportation-related technology at SYR. SYR is one of the first airports in the U.S. to include UAS/AAM infrastructure planning as part of its master plan,” Jason Terreri, executive director of SRAA, said.

The project stakeholders intend to work with Transport Canada, NAV CANADA, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement an international framework to test the technology and align regulations and air-traffic procedures and management.