PHOTO
Air Chateau International, a Dubai-based helicopter operator, is eyeing an investment of 100 million UAE dirhams ($27.2 million) over the next three years to develop infrastructure that could give a boost to the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) ecosystem in the UAE.
Last November, the company placed a $500 million order with the US-based Archer Aviation at the Dubai Airshow to purchase 100 next-generation all-electric aircraft that could be deployed as air taxis in the UAE by 2026.
“The aviation industry in the UAE is rapidly adapting advancements in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and we want to drive this innovation further by building the necessary infrastructure to make this happen,” said Shilton Tony Irudayaraj, Co-founder and CEO of Air Chateau.
While Archer announced its partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) in April to accelerate planned commercial air taxi operations in the UAE, along with in-country manufacturing, operations and training, Air Chateau, which is certified by the General Civil Aviation Authority of the UAE to operate out of its Dubai Helipark location in Dubai South, is hoping to drive a similar ecosystem in the emirate.
“We are looking at a AED 100 million infrastructure investment over the next two to three years, which will lay the foundation for a mixed development that will include vertiports, hangars, a training academy for pilots and engineers, an MRO [maintenance, repair, overhaul] service, luxury lounges, everything that is needed to make us future-ready for eVTOL adoption,” Irudayaraj said.
Air Chateau’s Founder and Chairman, Dr Samir Mohamed said while the company wasn’t closed to the idea of more financing options in the future, it had its own pool of private investors, which did not require them to raise further funding.
“We are not an OEM [original equipment manufacturer] but an operator and infrastructure provider. So, at this time, we are very agnostic about working with a particular OEM,” Mohamed revealed, when quizzed about future partnerships. “We are in talks with international entities that are looking to expand into the UAE but with the ecosystem still nascent, we have to give it the time it needs before signing on for more commitments.”
Currently, while the company is looking forward to opening the second phase of the Dubai Helipark, its Helicopter Centre, which is in conjunction with The Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub (MBRAH), Irudayaraj said he was also looking ahead at building a 30-helipad network over the period, across six to eight locations in the UAE, but declined to share specifics.
(Reporting by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)
