The Magellan 500 company (the consortium promoting the new Santarém airport) has chosen the Municipality of Oeiras to develop an innovative means of electric mobility that involves an aerial passenger transportation solution.
These aircraft, called eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing), are powered by electricity and are seen as having the potential to revolutionize the way people travel, while reducing environmental impacts. These solutions must combine: efficiency in the use of landing and take-off spaces, known as vertiports; the sustainability of electric energy (mainly renewable); the silent operation of electric propulsion; and the convenience of fast travel at advertised cruising speeds generally above 250 km/hour.
"In a world that is rapidly evolving and facing the challenge of climate change, new sustainable mobility technologies are playing an increasingly important role," says the municipality. The municipality of Oeiras, which is a benchmark in the areas of technology and innovation and has invested in sustainable mobility solutions, will work with Magellan 500 on the common goal of installing vertiports for eVTOL aircraft bases, the purpose of which will be to transport passengers within large cities.
The Magellan 500 project for the future construction of the airport in the region of Santarém, which is part of the Barraqueiro Group, thus aims to develop, in a first phase, the vertiports that will serve as rapid access between Oeiras and that region. Subsequently, it is intended that they will be networked with vertiports that may be established in Portugal. For the consortium and its members, this agreement represents another step in a global strategy of decarbonization and sustainability.
