Aeroberm releases Shenzhen & Greater Bay Area Vertiport Market Study as Hong Kong's low-altitude economy accelerates

Aeroberm will release its Low Altitude Economy Vertiport Market Study for Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area at LEAP East 2026 in Hong Kong this week, as the region moves from pilot programs toward full commercial rollout of eVTOL aircraft. The release comes as Hong Kong ramps up its "Regulatory Sandbox X" program, with both EHang (partnering with Kwoon Chung Smart Mobility and Hong Kong Cyberport) and AutoFlight (partnering with AECOM and China Travel Service) selected for the initiative's first batch of trial projects. Combined with mainland China's rapid low-altitude infrastructure build-out just across the border in Shenzhen, the momentum signals Hong Kong's emergence as a genuine air taxi  hub within the Greater Bay Area, not simply an observer of it.

Shenzhen has built 1,284 low-altitude take-off and landing sites, surpassing its 2026 target of 1,200 ahead of schedule, backed by 12 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) in government investment. But that infrastructure is overwhelmingly built for drones, logistics, and general aviation — Shenzhen does not yet have a network of dedicated, purpose-built passenger vertiports. That is precisely the gap Aeroberm's market study is designed to quantify: a forecast installed base of 500–1,000 modular passenger vertipads by 2030, rising to 1,500–2,000 by 2035 and 7,000–8,000 by 2045, as commercial passenger air taxi operations begin in earnest.

Over that same period, the Shenzhen market is forecast to grow from today's early-stage activity to US$1.5–2 billion by 2035 and US$4–6 billion by 2045, supporting an estimated 54 million annual passenger trips. Nationally, China's air taxi market is projected to reach US$40–60 billion by 2045.

Clem Newton-Brown, Founder and CEO of Skyportz and creator of Aeroberm commented: "Shenzhen has built the world's most advanced low-altitude logistics network, but passenger vertiports are still an open question, not just here but everywhere. Hong Kong's entry into a sandbox alongside AutoFlight and EHang shows this region is moving faster than almost anywhere else in the world on both aircraft and airspace. What's still missing is standardised, safety-validated ground infrastructure purpose-built for passenger eVTOL. That's the gap Aeroberm exists to fill, and the Greater Bay Area is exactly where we want to build it."

Skyportz is in active discussions with local infrastructure companies to collaborate on rolling out Aeroberm's modular vertipad network across China, positioning the company to move quickly as Hong Kong's sandbox trials progress and Shenzhen's build-out continues.

Newton-Brown will be speaking at LEAP East and available to meet investors at Aeroberm's stand, H3 P137, throughout the event. With Aeroberm's full-scale prototype currently in fabrication ahead of global commercial launch, Aeroberm is seeking strategic partners and first-mover investors to help scale the technology across the Greater Bay Area and other frontier air taxi markets.

The full Shenzhen market study can be accessed here.