London Helicopter Guide
The next chapter: tower, terminal and eVTOL

History

The next chapter: tower, terminal and eVTOL

Heliport House tower dispute, Skyports Canary Wharf, Vertical Aerospace network and the future of London Heliport

Hero image: Waerfelu, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Heliport House tower dispute, Skyports Canary Wharf, Vertical Aerospace network and the future of London Heliport.

Key facts

  • Feb 2025 34-storey tower proposed
  • 20 Jan 2022 Skyports buys Falcon Heliport
  • Dec 2025 plan targets Q1 2029; certification target 2029

In date order

  1. 2010New passenger terminal and Hotel Verta open
    Secondary trade reports; AIN files dated 2026 appear to be 2010 stories with misleading metadata. bjtonline.com
    Confidence: secondary; year inferred - confirm
  2. 2013 (16 January)Vauxhall crane collision, Agusta A109E G-CRST
    About 07:59 GMT, helicopter diverting to London Heliport in freezing fog struck the jib of a crane on St George Wharf Tower. Pilot Pete Barnes and pedestrian Matthew Wood died; 12 injured. gov.uk
    Confidence: verified (AAIB); casualty detail via Wikipedia citing BBC
  3. 2014 / 2025Heliport House: 15-storey scheme approved 2014 (not built); 34-storey tower of up to 147 flats proposed
    Local Democracy Reporter, 11 February 2025; heliport operator lodged holding objection (April 2025, secondary). Outcome not found. southlondon.co.uk
    Confidence: secondary; outcome not found
  4. 2022 (20 January)Skyports buys Falcon Heliport near Canary Wharf
    To be developed as a potential eVTOL vertiport; operates as Skyports London Heliport; price undisclosed. ainonline.com
    Confidence: verified (AIN)
  5. 2025 (17 December)Vertical Aerospace, Skyports and Bristow plan UK electric air-taxi network
    Target start Q1 2029 subject to approval expected 2028; routes link Canary Wharf with Heathrow, Gatwick, Cambridge, Oxford; Valo aircraft up to 100 miles at 150 mph; Bristow pre-ordered up to 50. aamnation.com
    Confidence: secondary trade report; confirm on Vertical/Skyports release
  6. 2026 (13 August)Vertical Aerospace Q2 2026 call: VX4 type certification now expected 2029
    Single aggregator source. marketbeat.com
    Confidence: single aggregator; confirm on company filing

Pictures

London Heliport terminal and Hotel Verta, 2010
London Heliport terminal and Hotel Verta, 2010Waerfelu, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
St George Wharf Tower and crane jib damaged after the helicopter crash, 16 January 2013
St George Wharf Tower and crane jib damaged after the helicopter crash, 16 January 2013David Holt, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Heliport House, Battersea, August 2014
Heliport House, Battersea, August 2014Images George Rex from London, England, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Vertical Aerospace VX4 prototype G-EVTA, RAF Fairford, July 2025
Vertical Aerospace VX4 prototype G-EVTA, RAF Fairford, July 2025Colin Cooke Photo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Volocopter VoloCity full-scale model, ILA Berlin 2022
Volocopter VoloCity full-scale model, ILA Berlin 2022Leo067, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Check first

Historical details differ between sources. We give the source for each entry and say where it is secondary.

Sources and checks

Facts on this page come from these sources, last checked 2026-11-03. Where a source could not be reached or did not say, we left the fact out.

  1. southlondon.co.uk southlondon.co.uk
  2. ainonline.com ainonline.com
  3. aamnation.com aamnation.com
  4. bjtonline.com bjtonline.com
  5. gov.uk gov.uk
  6. marketbeat.com marketbeat.com