Honeywell Aerospace will lead a major European initiative to accelerate the safe integration of piloted eVTOLs and remotely operated cargo drones into continental airspace. Awarded under the European Union’s SESAR Joint Undertaking, Project VERTI GO positions a Honeywell Aerospace-led consortium at the center of Europe’s next phase of airspace modernization and advanced air mobility development.
Led by Honeywell Aerospace engineers in Brno, Czech Republic, the 12-partner consortium brings together Europe’s leading air navigation providers, airports and technology companies, with Vertical Aerospace serving as the project’s piloted eVTOL demonstration partner and Odys Aviation serving as the project’s remotely operated cargo drone demonstration partner.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s Innovative Air Mobility framework is set to enable an ecosystem for the safe, integrated use of piloted eVTOL aircraft and remotely operated drones in Europe, moving them closer to becoming part of everyday life on the continent.
“Integrating new aircraft types into already busy airspace requires new procedures, new levels of automation and new ways of managing traffic,” said Jolana Dvorská, senior technical manager at Honeywell Aerospace. “The question is no longer whether these aircraft can fly and perform, but how they can operate safely at large scale within Europe’s existing airspace.”
The project will focus on two pathways: one for eVTOL operations with an onboard pilot and one for remotely operated cargo drone operations. Both project pathways will conduct simulations and demonstrations in European locations. Piloted eVTOL flights, to be conducted by Vertical Aerospace in the south of Spain, will be monitored by aviation authorities to help build trust for future operations. For remotely operated cargo drone operations, the results of these simulations and demonstrations aim to contribute to future standards and regulations for operations in Europe.
Key areas of project VERTI-GO include digital flight planning, vertiports and emergency landing site management, as well as the use of automation to support eVTOL operators and air traffic controllers. Simulations and demonstrations will form the centerpiece of the project, including flight demonstrations using Vertical Aerospace’s prototype eVTOL between Malaga and Marbella in Spain, expected to take place during 2028.
For passengers, this would help to enable faster urban and regional travel, support additional regional routes through new connections between cities, airports and surrounding regions and enable smoother door-to-door journeys via future vertiport networks.
For remotely operated travel, project VERTI-GO aims to enable SAIL-IV-category cargo drone operations (a European regulatory category for more complex remotely operated operations) through real-world demonstrations at selected European locations.
“Advancing electric aviation requires more than just an advanced aircraft. It requires an ecosystem of trusted partners working together to enable safe, seamless operations in an increasingly complex airspace,” said Michael Cervenka, chief commercial and strategy officer of Vertical Aerospace. “Project VERTI-GO is Europe’s equivalent of the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program in the U.S., bringing together industry, regulators and air navigation providers to develop that operational framework. This kind of collaboration is essential to building confidence in the technology and accelerating the industry’s path forward.”
“From day one, our mission has been to build aircraft that meet the operational demands and regulatory standards emerging across the European Union. Project VERTI-GO represents a major step forward for the entire advanced air mobility ecosystem,” said James Dorris, founder and CEO at Odys Aviation. “We’re proud to help advance SAIL-IV unmanned operations, demonstrating how Laila, our hybrid UAV, can transform medical and offshore logistics across the EU, while helping chart a clear, safe path toward fully integrated drone operations in everyday life.”
Project partners include technology providers (Honeywell Aerospace and Frequentis), platform manufacturers (Vertical Aerospace and Odys Aviation), air navigation service providers (Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic, NATS and ENAIRE), research institutions (ITG and CRIDA), an airport and vertiport operator (Aena), an electric aircraft operator (Aeros Electric Airlines) and an intergovernmental organization (EUROCONTROL).
The SESAR Joint Undertaking is an institutionalized European partnership between private and public sector partners co-funded by the European Union to accelerate the delivery of the Digital European Sky through research and innovation.
More information about the VERTI-GO project is available on the SESAR Joint Undertaking website.
