Abu Dhabi Airports will construct over 10 vertiports for air taxi and eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) operations to enhance connectivity within the Capital and other emirates, its chief executive announced on Monday.
“We see ourselves as enablers of the Abu Dhabi vision to enhance trade, tourism, and connectivity within Abu Dhabi. Our vision is to shape the future of the airport experience. We are tasked with developing more than 10 vertiports across Abu Dhabi. We are already developing vertiports inside Al Batina airport, which will become the hub due to its convenient location in the heart of the city,” said Elena Sorlini, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Abu Dhabi Airports.
“We aim to connect Abu Dhabi to the world and to link our airports with the rest of the city and other emirates in the UAE. Hence, we focus on intermodal connectivity. We expect the first operations to commence in 2026 to enhance passenger experience,” she added during a panel discussion at the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week 2025 held in the UAE capital on Monday.
Led by Abu Dhabi, the UAE is aggressively promoting this new mode of transport to offer a novel experience to residents and visitors, as well as to alleviate traffic congestion in the country. Abu Dhabi has partnered with the US company Archer Aviation to launch air taxi operations in the UAE starting next year. It is anticipated that regulations for eVTOL will be approved by the third quarter of next year.
Biometrics at Abu Dhabi Airport
Abu Dhabi Airports’ chief executive also revealed that biometric solutions have been implemented at five of the nine touch points for a better passenger experience.
“We will roll them out across the entire journey because we want our passengers to experience seamless travel, which helps us enhance capacity, safety, and security.”
Abu Dhabi Airports reported double-digit passenger traffic growth for the 18th consecutive quarter during the third quarter of 2025, while also showing continued growth in flights and cargo serviced.
Between July 1 and September 30, 2025, Abu Dhabi Airports received 8.49 million passengers, marking a significant 10.1 percent increase over figures from the same period in 2024. Zayed International Airport, Abu Dhabi’s main gateway, recorded 8.35 million passengers through its gates until the end of September, an increase of 10.4 percent year-on-year.
She elaborated that Abu Dhabi Airports is now rolling out the solution for transfer passengers as well, with the aim of achieving 100 percent paperless operations.
Badr Al Olama, director-general, Abu Dhabi Investment Office, and Tony Han, founder, chairman, and CEO of WeRide, also participated in the panel discussion.
