Definition
An area of land, water, or structure used or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, together with associated buildings and facilities.
Plain English
A small airport designed for aircraft that take off and land straight up and down, such as helicopters and the new electric VTOL aircraft.
Context Anchor
Seen in airport information, route planning, and future air taxi or vertical-lift operations.
Derivation
Built from 'verti-' (from vertical, Latin verticalis, meaning upright or straight up and down) and 'port' (from Latin portus, a harbor or place of arrival and departure). Together: a place where aircraft arrive and depart vertically.
Why Pilots Care
VTOL aircraft will soon share the same airspace, so pilots need to know where these new landing sites are located and how they operate.
Intuition Check
A vertiport is not just a small airport. It is specifically for aircraft designed to take off and land vertically or nearly vertically.
Example Sentence 1
The new vertiport on top of the parking garage will serve electric air taxis once certification is complete.
Example Sentence 2
New vertiports are being designed with charging stations and passenger terminals for future air taxi service.