Leonardo, the Italian state-owned company operating in the aerospace, defence and security sectors, will build the rotorcraft terminal that will be used for the Expo 2020 in Dubai. Leonardo will construct the terminal in collaboration with Emirati operator Falcon Aviation Services, based in Abu Dhabi.
The project of the terminal aims at meeting the growing demands for sustainable and modern vertical lift mobility as well as greater access to urban areas. The terminal will be built using recyclable materials according to a strongly environmentally compatible and modular design that also makes it possible to move it entirely to other places.
The new rotorcraft terminal will combine a helipad, a showroom and lounge areas in a single city-based heliport. The project will also contribute to the development of a network of point-to-point connections for both urban transfers and connections between cities. The prototype had been presented in 2019 at the Dubai Air Show and it is now under construction in Dubai, in view of Expo 2020. The international exhibition was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will take place from October 2021 to March 2022, with the participation of many Italian enterprises.
With approximately 90% of the UAE’s VIP helicopter fleet composed of Leonardo’s aircrafts, the Italian company confirms its innovative leadership in passenger transportation and vertical lift mobility, exploiting the opportunity created by Expo 2020 to showcase its AW609 tiltrotor, an innovative commercial aircraft that is set to begin a new era in urban connections.
As it is reported on the company’s website, the AW609, created to offer an effective synthesis of the speed, range and altitude of a fixed-wing turboprop airplane and the vertical take-off and landing versatility of a helicopter, is the world’s fastest commercial rotorcraft of this category.
During the 2019 Dubai Air Show, Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Leonardo, said: “This one-of-a-kind initiative demonstrates that Leonardo, together with its long-established leading partners, is shaping the way we will fly in the next few decades. We’re proud to have joined forces with Falcon Aviation Services on this project in Dubai which will provide unprecedented levels of quality transportation services during a world class event like Expo 2020.”
Her Highness Sheikha Alyazia Bint Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Chairperson of the Executive Managing Committee of Falcon Aviation, stated: “We’re very excited to be working with Leonardo on this groundbreaking development in sustainable air mobility in Dubai to provide a never-before-seen level of transport service to millions of visitors during the World’s Greatest Show.”
