A new electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) terminal concept has been unveiled by Foster + Partners.

The firm says its plan would augment the Dubai International Airport (DBX) and was developed in unison with Skyports Infrastructure, which Foster + Partners called a leader in advanced air mobility (AAM). It will help transport air travelers to other nodes in the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)’s planned vertiport and metro infrastructure network, itself a zero emissions high-speed system that’s currently being promoted by the government and the emirate's monarch Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Placed in the context of Foster + Partners’ other airport designs in the region, the vertiport project will serve as a compliment to its previously proposed King Salman International Airport and the forthcoming Red Sea Airport, both of which are located in Saudi Arabia and were begun in the two years since the firm’s controversial withdrawal from the group Architects Declare over its hardline stance to air infrastructure commissions.

David Summerfield, the Head of Studio for Foster + Partners’ London operation said: “We are delighted to have developed a vertiport concept for the emerging AAM industry, which will transform the way people travel in Dubai. The conceptual vertiport connects with Dubai International Airport and the Dubai Metro, to provide seamless, sustainable travel across the city for international and domestic passengers.” 

A press announcement noted the terminal structure's connectivity to DBX arrival and departure terminals. The terminal will be situated on top of an elevated platform deck to better facilitate the takeoff and landing of the eVTOL vehicles, which will start gracing other major airports in New York and Chicago over the next decade.

Plans are advancing toward a 2026 completion, with three other unspecified vertiport terminals to follow at locations that will be announced at a future date.