UDOT outlines advanced air mobility plans, applies for eVTOL pilot program and readies vertiport toolkit

UDOT officials briefed the subcommittee on the department’s advanced air mobility (AAM) efforts, including testing infrastructure, community outreach, airport electrification grants and federal pilot program applications.

Matt Moss, UDOT’s aeronautics director, said the department has mobile command vehicles and a trailer outfitted with sensors and weather instrumentation to support safe testing. UDOT said it intends to complete a local‑government toolkit for ordinances, planning and zoning (available as a living document on UDOT’s website by July 1, 2027) and has allocated $2 million for airport electrification to support charging infrastructure for aircraft and support vehicles.

UDOT is leading an application to the USDOT eVTOL Integration and Pilot Program (EIPP) with Idaho, Arizona, Oregon and Oklahoma as partners and listed several industry participants in its application. "We are partnering with Beta Technologies, AmpAir, FutureFlight Global, Joby, Jump Aero, Alpine Air, and Lockheed Martin," one presenter said. The department also noted work on vertiport concept‑of‑operations and licensing; state law already designates UDOT to license vertiports in coming rulemaking phases.

UDOT said these steps are intended to position Utah as a testing and deployment hub while building a framework for community engagement and local control over land‑use issues related to vertiports and operations.