The US Federal Aviation Administration has released updated draft design standards for infrastructure supporting Advanced Air Mobility aircraft, including helicopters, rotorcraft, powered-lift aircraft, special-class rotorcraft and other vertical take-off and landing vehicles. The initial proposal is intended to guide airport and heliport owners, operators and developers planning facilities at existing airports, on rooftops or at new dedicated sites.
The draft covers touchdown and liftoff areas, final-approach areas, safety areas and approach surfaces, along with lighting, markings, perimeter lighting, glideslope indicators and other pilot visual aids. It also provides guidance for aircraft fuelling and electric-charging systems, and for incorporating vertical-flight facilities into airports without disrupting existing operations.
The FAA has combined earlier heliport and vertiport design guidance into a broader framework intended to support both conventional rotorcraft and emerging powered-lift and eVTOL operations. The proposal remains subject to industry feedback and does not establish final regulations, authorise commercial eVTOL operations or set a deadline for implementation.
Operational experience and real-world data from the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program will inform future refinements. The agency has linked the work to the administration’s aviation-innovation and drone-policy priorities, including the Unleashing Drone Dominance executive order.