Former aviation safety chief Eamonn Brennan is to join Irish-backed air taxi manufacturer Vertical Aerospace as an adviser.
Founded by Belfast man Stephen Fitzpatrick, Vertical Aerospace is developing battery-powered, vertical take off and landing air taxis at its base in Bristol in southern England.
The New York-listed company said on Friday it has appointed Mr Brennan, a well-known air travel industry figure, to its board.
Mr Brennan is a former chief executive of the Republic’s safety regulator and air navigation manager, the Irish Aviation Authority.
More recently he served as director general of European air traffic control body, Eurocontrol, from 2017 to 2022, leading the organisation through the air travel shutdown that followed the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020.
He is currently on the boards of Ryanair and Anra Technologies which develops airspace management and compliance systems for drones, and he sits on aviation analytics specialist Cirium’s advisory board.
Mr Brennan joins Vertical Aerospace as it prepares for tests that will be key to its full safety certification and commercial viability.
The company is preparing for wing-borne flight with its VX4 prototype aircraft, designed to take off, fly and land using its wings rather than rotors.
Vertical’s shareholders include Irish aircraft leasing group, Avolon, whose former chief executive Dómhnall Slattery chairs its board, which he joined in January.
He previously chaired the company between January 2022 and August 2023, during which time it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 2021, Avolon ordered a record 500 VX4 aircraft from the company, worth around $2 billion.
Airlines including AirAsia, Japan Airlines, Air Greenland and Turkish air services group, Gözen Holdings, subsequently pledged to take those aircraft.
The VX4 is a four-passenger electric powered aircraft designed to take off and land vertically.
They will be used to ferry passengers over shorter trips, particularly through urban areas, generating zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Mr Brennan noted the company was “well-positioned” to lead the developing industry.
He cautioned that “certifying a novel aircraft is hard” but pledged to support the company through the process.
Trevor Woods, former certification director at the European Union Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) is Vertical’s director of regulatory affairs.
The company is going through safety certification with the EASA, the US Federal Aviation Administration, National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil and the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau.
Last year, its home regulator, the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, agreed certification co-operation with the EASA.
Stuart Simpson, Vertical Aerospace chief executive, welcomed Mr Brennan’s appointment.
“Navigating the regulatory landscape is one of the biggest challenges in pioneering electric aviation, and having someone of Eamonn’s calibre advising us is a huge advantage,” he said.
