Virgin Atlantic had withdrawn from a project planning to operate test flights of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft even prior to the carrier’s decision to terminate a relationship with consortium partner Vertical Aerospace, it has emerged.
Led by engineering consultancy AtkinsRealis, the project, part-funded by the UK’s Future Flight Challenge, was unveiled in 2022.
Its goal was to carry out demonstration flights of an eVTOL aircraft in the UK, including from London Heathrow airport, in 2024 to “significantly accelerate the introduction” of advanced air mobility (AAM) services.
Virgin and eVTOL developer Vertical were two of the Advanced Mobility Ecosystem (AME) consortium’s highest profile members, alongside vertiport developer Skyports, air navigation service provider NATS, and several research bodies.
Bringing the pair together in the project seemed a logical step given their existing relationship: Virgin had in 2021 signed an agreement for up to 150 of Vertical’s VX4 aircraft.
However, the carrier in March disclosed a deal with US-based Joby Aviation to set up a UK eVTOL network; its pact with Vertical had been dissolved in November 2024, it said.
Responding to a question from FlightGlobal, Virgin confirms that it stepped back from the AME consortium in July last year.
“Virgin Atlantic made the difficult decision to withdraw from the Air Mobility Ecosystem consortium following an internal review and allocation of resource.
“The airline has a partnership in place with Joby and remains committed to supporting the development of eVTOL in the UK.”
Despite Virgin’s withdrawal, AtkinsRealis says it has not sought a replacement “as we are working with other individual providers for essential operations and logistics capabilities,” it says.
“Virgin Atlantic made a valuable contribution to the consortium and we are continuing to make significant progress in pioneering AAM in the UK.
“We remain fully committed to our objectives, including completing the vertiport Living Lab at Bicester Motion and working towards demonstration flights.”
Skyports recently announced it had completed construction of the vertiport at Bicester Motion in central England. Vertical hopes to perform demonstration flights from the site later this year.
