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Advanced air mobility (AAM) firm Wisk has taken another step towards its goal of air taxis in Brisbane by the 2032 Olympics, signing a new agreement with Archerfield Airport.
The new strategic alliance will see Archerfield Airport Corporation (AAC) and Wisk Aero collaborate on “a variety of projects” to boost the AAM ecosystem and operations at Archerfield, the largest corporate and general aviation airport in Queensland.
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AAC says the first item on the agenda will be an electrification program, to examine the electrical and infrastructure requirements necessary to support air taxis at Archerfield.
“Archerfield’s central location only 11 kilometres from Brisbane’s CBD and between three 2032 Olympic and Paralympic zones, along with its recent $20 million infrastructure upgrade and critical mass of aeronautical expertise, positions it perfectly to become a primary node in the AAM ecosystem, providing the facilities for eVTOL recharging, maintenance and other services,” said AAC executive general manager Rod Parry.
“By the time of Brisbane’s Olympic Games, eVTOLs will likely be providing essential emissions-free transport services from vertiports around the region, keeping traffic off our busy roads and ensuring the efficient transfer of personnel to key sites throughout South-East Queensland.
“Archerfield Airport will be back at the cusp of innovation through the adoption of AAM, delivering fast, safe, quiet, eco-friendly, on-demand aviation alternatives adaptable to a wide range of applications that will be vital as Queensland continues to grow rapidly.”
The prospective air taxi network would use Wisk’s recently-developed sixth-generation electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which have four seats and will operate autonomously between vertiport sites on pre-planned routes.
Dan Parsons, manager of market development at Wisk, said the agreement with Archerfield will help it bring “safe, sustainable and scalable autonomous air taxis” to South East Queensland.
“Archerfield is at the forefront of facilitating the AAM ecosystem within Brisbane and we’re excited to partner to evaluate potential future Wisk operations and airspace integration at their site, one of the major private airports in the region,” he said.
The agreement with Archerfield follows a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Airservices Australia in August in order to share expertise and facilitate the integration of AAM into Australia’s airspace, with an estimated 1 million air taxi flights per year expected by 2043.
