As advanced air mobility (AAM) takes shape, airports around the world are asking a similar question: how should we position ourselves in an industry whose technologies, timelines and business models are still evolving?
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There is no single model to follow. But looking at airports already taking action reveals a common principle: successful positioning is less about how much you invest than about how you structure your approach.
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In his upcoming white paper, Sofiane Benyouci, President and Chief Executive Officer and Senior Partner at Innovitech, examines four airports that have taken very different paths toward AAM. Each relied on an instrument it already controlled, while following a similar sequence: engage regulators and public authorities before committing to a commercial partner.
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Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) used procurement to preserve flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than committing its future to a single manufacturer, GOAA developed a two-phase process for the non-exclusive right to design, build, operate and maintain two vertiports. The initiative involved the FAA, FDOT, local air traffic control, NASA and NATCA, placing regulatory and public stakeholders ahead of commercial partners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The importance of this approach became clear when Lilium, which had previously designated Orlando as a network hub, collapsed. Orlando’s broader position remained intact because its strategy was not dependent on the success of one company.
It had built a structure, not a bet.
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In Paris, Groupe ADP chose a different instrument: the consortium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Paris, Groupe ADP chose a different instrument: the consortium.
Through Re.Invent Air Mobility, Groupe ADP brought together RATP Group, Choose Paris Region and around 30 partners, while engaging French and European aviation regulators from the outset.
This ecosystem ultimately supported the development of an integrated vertiport terminal at Pontoise-Cormeilles. But perhaps more importantly, the expertise created through the initiative survived shifting timelines and the insolvency of a manufacturing partner.
Today, Groupe ADP Airport Services offers AAM ecosystem structuring, vertiport network planning and operational expertise to other airport operators. What began as a local initiative therefore created a capability that could be exported to other markets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abu Dhabi Airports followed another route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In November 2025, it received an emirate-wide mandate to lead vertiport infrastructure, operations and commercial readiness, working alongside public and regulatory organizations. Skyports Infrastructure was subsequently brought in for design, construction and engineering, with both parties intending to collaborate on operations.
The sequence is important. The public mandate and regulatory environment came first. The commercial partner followed, brought in to provide a specific capability the airport required. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At YMX International Aerocity of Mirabel, ADM A\u00e9roports de Montr\u00e9al took yet another approach.
Rather than beginning with a vertiport or a specific AAM manufacturer, ADM built an ecosystem around assets already present at the site. Airbus, the National Research Council of Canada’s drone innovation centre, a hydrogen consortium, a provincial innovation zone and a local c\u00e9gep were among the capabilities brought together around the airport.
Years later, when a federal requirement emerged for secure collaboration, specialized testing infrastructure and access to regulated airspace, the ecosystem already matched many of those needs.
ADM did not have to build its position around the opportunity. Much of that position was already there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Orlando used procurement. Paris used a consortium. Abu Dhabi relied on a public mandate. Montr\u00e9al built a campus and ecosystem around its existing assets.
The approaches are different because the airports themselves are different. What they share is more instructive: each used an instrument it already controlled, and each engaged regulators or public authorities before placing a commercial partner at the centre of its strategy.
This is an important distinction for airports considering their own role in AAM. Leadership does not necessarily mean building first or spending the most. It can mean understanding what your organization already controls and using it to create a position that remains valuable even as technologies, manufacturers and timelines change.
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In an upcoming report, Innovitech will explore this thinking in greater depth and share Sofiane Benyouci\u2019s full analysis of the assets, strategies and models that can help airports position themselves within the emerging advanced air mobility ecosystem.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As advanced air mobility (AAM) takes shape, airports around the world are asking a similar question: how should we position ourselves in an industry whose technologies, timelines and business models are still evolving? There is no single model to follow. But looking at airports already taking action reveals a common principle: successful positioning is less…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-innovation-posts"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovitech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovitech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovitech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovitech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovitech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4985"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/innovitech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5005,"href":"https:\/\/innovitech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4985\/revisions\/5005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovitech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovitech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovitech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovitech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}