Signature Flight Support and Uber Elevate announced a nationwide partnership at the Uber Elevate Summit, in Washington D.C. earlier this week. Signature will facilitate ground-based operations and skyport infrastructure for Uber Air.

Signature will also be the ground-based operator of choice for Uber Copter services, due to be launched on July 9. Uber Copter will fly people from downtown Manhattan to JFK airport – reducing what can be a two-hour trip in heavy traffic to half an hour.

Uber recently announced plans to operate a network of electric air taxis (Uber Air) in cities worldwide to enable four-person flights in densely populated urban markets. At the Elevate Summit, the company also said Melbourne will be its first international market. The first two cities to be announced were Dallas and Los Angeles.

Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate, said: “Efficient and safe skyports are a critical component of our business model, and our future collaboration with Signature will allow for a seamless rider experience from the moment they arrive at a skyport to the moment they depart.”

Signature is one of world leaders in Fixed Based Operations (FBOs), with over 200 locations across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Mark Johnstone, group chief executive officer, Signature Flight Support said: “This is a powerful partnership that will leverage Signature Flight Support’s industry leading scale, distribution and aviation expertise and marry it with the innovative services and technology leadership of Uber to forge a bold new vision for the future of transportation.”

As an FBO operator for Uber Elevate, Signature will support infrastructure and operations at on-airport locations as well as designated eVTOL urban skyports. In the near term, Signature will be involved with Uber Copter as a “building block,” which can be scaled up for Uber Air.