Orlando International Airport is getting serious about air taxis. At its Wednesday board meeting, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority signed off on staff plans to design a compact takeoff and landing pad, or “vertistop,” next to the train station at MCO. The move clears a key hurdle to testing an on-airport site for electric air taxi demonstrations and, according to local reporting, would make Orlando International the first airport in the country to host an air taxi vertiport. Airport leaders describe the project as an early proving ground for a broader vertiport network that could eventually reshape short-hop travel across Central Florida.
Board Clears Vertistop By The Train Station
According to Airport Improvement, the GOAA board authorized staff to move ahead with vertistop development at Surface Lot Atlantis, which sits alongside the MCO Train Station. The plan still needs sign-off from the Federal Aviation Administration as well as support from the Florida Department of Transportation. Orlando Business Journal reports that the project would position MCO as the nation’s first airport with an air taxi vertiport on its property. The site is designed as a relatively simple, FAA-guided landing area that can support demonstration flights while validating approach and departure procedures inside Orlando’s busy Class B airspace.
FAA Simulations Put MCO On The AAM Map
A human-in-the-loop study by the Federal Aviation Administration has already tested how this might work in practice. In a set of high-fidelity simulations, experts modeled multiple potential vertiport locations along with proposed electric vertical takeoff and landing routes inside Orlando’s Class B airspace. The FAA report concluded that, with customized procedures and advanced surveillance, eVTOL traffic could operate alongside existing airline flights without materially affecting current operations. Those findings helped narrow down candidate sites and supported the choice of the Train Station area as a strong early test location.
Why Florida Is Racing Ahead
The timing is no accident. The Florida Legislature passed House Bill 1093 this spring, giving the Florida Department of Transportation authority to fund vertiport projects starting July 1. The Florida Senate's bill record and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s selection of FDOT for the federal eVTOL integration pilot program provide both funding tools and a national testing framework. Local officials say that combination, money plus a federal pilot structure, helped push GOAA to greenlight a demonstration pad now rather than wait.
Field Tests And Industry Partners
The hardware that would make these short flights possible is already showing up around the region. WFTV has covered Beta Technologies bringing in its fast-charge "Charge Cube" system and flying test missions at Kissimmee Gateway Airport, while Orlando Business Journal notes that the company has also demonstrated its ALIA aircraft at MCO. These trials are focused on proving out charging times, ground turnaround steps and flight procedures before regulators allow any paying passengers on board.
Next Steps And Timeline
From here, airport staff plan to move into procurement and hands-on demonstrations. GOAA planning materials call for an Invitation to Negotiate that will seek private partners to help develop vertiport infrastructure. GOAA's planning documents outline a goal of identifying vertiport locations by 2028 and building a fully FAA-approved on-airport vertiport by 2030. Officials are quick to note that those targets depend on federal approvals and available funding. The vertistop trials are expected to feed data on noise, safety and community impacts that will shape the rules of the road before any commercial air taxi service is allowed to launch.
