Lilium, the Munich-based aviation company, will partner with Tavistock Development Company and the City of Orlando to launch the first high-speed electric air mobility network and first Vertiport in the United States.
The air mobility network’s first hub location will be located in Lake Nona, Orlando, and will launch by 2025.
The Florida network is part of Lilium’s vision of bringing regional high-speed electric air travel to locations worldwide. The company’s jet can travel up to 186 miles within one hour on a single charge, connecting entire regions and creating a significant impact for cities and their residents.
“We are thrilled to partner with Tavistock and build the first stretch of Florida’s high-speed electric transportation network with Central Florida at its core,” Lilium Chief Operating Officer Remo Gerber. “It shows that regional high-speed air mobility can be built by private initiative and give communities such as Lake Nona, which can also serve Orlando and arrivals from its international airport, the ability to determine themselves whether they want a link into a high-speed transportation network.”
The company said it chose Lake Nona for its central location, connecting more than 20 million Floridians within a 186-mile radius and providing access to major cities like Orlando and Tampa. The Lake Nona vertiport will create more than 100 jobs in the Orlando area, the company said, with hundreds more estimated in the future.
Lilium and Tavistock are working together to create a breakthrough vertiport architecture for hub locations. A variety of standardized vertiport designs allow flexibility so that hubs can be constructed offsite and assembled onsite.
Vertiport locations will be subject to approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Florida Department of Transportation, and other agencies.