While the advanced air mobility industry has long focused on aircraft certification as its primary hurdle, a growing consensus among infrastructure experts suggests that the ground-based vertiport network may be the more binding constraint. Lisa Wright, founder of Landings, a company building a vertiport network across rural North America, argues that the parallel to the electric vehicle industry is instructive: automakers produced EVs faster than charging networks could support them, leading to range anxiety and fragmented adoption. Advanced air mobility faces similar dynamics, compounded by the complexity of vertiport development.
Vertiport projects require navigating land agreements, community approvals, utility connections, and energy assessments, each carrying timelines that extend into years. Wright notes that property owners, municipalities, and potential passengers in underserved areas will feel the consequences directly: even once aircraft like Joby's, targeting certification by late 2026, or Archer's, potentially slipping to 2028, are approved, commercial service cannot begin without prepared landing sites. Developers who assumed infrastructure could be built quickly after aircraft approval are discovering lead times measured in years, not months.
Energy infrastructure emerges as the most underestimated bottleneck, particularly for rural or semi-rural locations. Grid connections to remote landing sites can take years to establish through utility providers. Off-grid solar and battery systems require procurement timelines that conflict with early deployment urgency. Some operators are exploring mobile charging units—trucks delivering on-demand power—as a temporary bridge before permanent grid or distributed energy solutions are in place. “Energy is still the real bottleneck,” Wright says, noting that procurement timelines for equipment can exceed expectations, especially in underserved areas. For urban or airport-adjacent locations, grid access is generally available, but for communities advanced air mobility is meant to connect, energy logistics become a primary design challenge.
The early-mover advantage in vertiport development is permanent. Because infrastructure requires years of community engagement, regulatory navigation, and energy planning, operators who started early hold positions that new entrants cannot quickly replicate. “It’s actually very difficult and time-consuming to build infrastructure on the ground,” Wright explains. “Anybody who wants to start now is going to take years to catch up with groups who have been ahead of this.” This dynamic is becoming visible as the FAA’s EIPP program launches operations this summer and manufacturers plan actual deployments. Operators with secured location agreements, community approvals, and energy solutions can offer manufacturers ready sites immediately, creating a split between those who can move quickly and those starting from scratch.
For property owners and communities considering vertiport agreements, the implication is clear: aircraft certification will eventually arrive, but service will flow to locations where infrastructure already exists. The work being done now determines which communities gain access when commercial operations begin. Landings, founded by architect and energy management expert Lisa Wright, is building a network of 2,000+ rural vertiport locations through revenue-sharing partnerships, taking an infrastructure-first approach. As the sector shifts from theoretical to operational, the ability to offer prepared landing sites may prove the most durable competitive position available.
