Orlando International Airport (MCO)

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) aims to integrate Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) technologies, such as electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL), electric Conventional Takeoff and Landing (eCTOL), and Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) aircraft within operations at Orlando Executive Airport (ORL) and into the multimodal environment at Orlando International Airport (MCO).

The integration of AAM into today’s National Airspace System (NAS) has the potential to reduce carbon emissions, reduce noise impacts, create new jobs, provide air service to underserved communities, and create opportunities for new and diversified revenue streams for airports. To safely and securely integrate AAM into the NAS, the Aviation Authority’s AAM integration efforts were built on the founding principle that AAM activity must not introduce risks to the safety or operations of existing commercial aviation traffic. GOAA’s work with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), through tabletop exercises and high-fidelity airspace simulation testing, has reinforced this approach. AAM aircraft operating near ORL and MCO will be equipped with tracking technology, improving awareness for both pilots and air traffic controllers.

Technological advancements, including the electrification of propulsion systems, improved battery life, and development of systems to enable advanced flight capabilities, are shaping the future of aviation and driving the emergence of eVTOL, eCTOL, and STOL aircraft.

These aircraft require a small footprint for takeoff and landing, and ultimately will foster “air taxi” operations, enable intercity and intracity travel, allow emergency and public services in areas that are not served or are currently underserved, and, more broadly, contribute to the evolution of the region’s transportation system by enabling the transfer of passengers and goods by air from a short runway or vertiport.

The Aviation Authority aims to support the needs of all stakeholders including, but not limited to, aircraft manufacturers, infrastructure developers, and government and city entities in the development of the region’s future aerial highway network. By developing initial vertiport facilities for aircraft demonstrations and facilitating the development of future full-scale vertiport facilities, this need can be met.

GOAA is proposing to:

Demonstrate the readiness of eVTOL aircraft...
Demonstrate the readiness of eVTOL aircraft =, including the integration of these operations with existing and future communications and navigational systems
Evaluate routes, procedures, and communication protocols...
Evaluate routes, procedures, and communication protocols to understand how passenger transport and cargo delivery would operate within ORL and MCO airspace.
Increase public awareness and confidence...
Increase public awareness and confidence in the safety of these new types of operations
Foster economic development...
Foster economic development within the region
Promote further collaboration...
Promote further collaboration among aviation, aerospace, alternative mobility, simulation, and advanced materials and manufacturing industries within the region and in the State of Florida
Continue working with the cities...
Continue working with the City of Orlando, Orange County, surrounding cities and counties, the State of Florida, and the federal government to determine the policies and regulations to enable these operations.