AEPM Seeks To Turn Red Carpet into a Flying Carpet

AEPM's investment at Guarulhos Airport could signal a move to accommodate eVTOL operations.

The proposed VIP terminal at Guarulhos International Airport. (Image: AEPM International)

By Richard Pedicini • Contributor - South America

August 4, 2022

The market is crowded with contenders to build electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and replete with glossy brochures showing fanciful vehicles crossing the skies. Eventually, the market, and the vehicles, will have to come down to earth.

The potential market is hard to call, but AEPM Brazil, a subsidiary of Canadian aerospace company AEPM International, has placed a bold bet on where the eVTOLs will land, signing a 40-year lease for a plot straddling the land and air sides of Brazil's Guarulhos International Airport (GRU). AEPM’s initial plans are to construct a $16 million, 5,100-sq-m (55,000-sq-ft) building occupying about half the plot to serve as a VIP airline terminal. However, Fethi Chebil, president and CEO of AEPM International, made it clear that long-range plans are for an eVTOL vertiport at a media conference celebrating the lease.

The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background.