How vertiport development landed at a local airport

ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.

Doug Bankson fondly remembers watching The Jetsons, the hit cartoon series featuring George Jetson and his family living a century in the future. Most notably, the 60-year-old Florida Representative from Apopka recalls Jetson’s car, which resembled a flying snow globe and was featured heavily in the show.

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Flying cars long have been featured on TV and in movies, but the logistics of such a thing happening in the real world were farfetched — until now.

That’s because Bankson, with help from House Transportation & Modals Subcommittee Chair Rep. Fiona McFarland from Sarasota, scored a victory for a flying-car-filled future with House Bill 981, which garnered unanimous support from the bipartisan subcommittee on Jan. 25. That bill, which has not been scheduled for a House vote yet, lays the groundwork for Florida vertiports — infrastructure supporting electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft — and place Orlando International Airport at the center of that emerging technology.

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