FAA Opens Draft Vertical-Flight Infrastructure Standard for Comment
FAA’s 140-page draft consolidates heliport and vertiport design guidance, with an industry day November 10 and comments due January 11, 2027.
At a glance
The Federal Aviation Administration released a 140-page draft standard for the planning, design and construction of infrastructure serving helicopters and powered-lift aircraft on October 22. Draft Advisory Circular 150/5390-4 would consolidate and replace the agency’s 2023 heliport circular and its 2024 vertiport engineering brief when finalized.
The draft covers siting, landing-area geometry, approach paths, taxiways, parking, soil stabilization, safety, fueling and electric charging. It also introduces a downwash and outwash caution area based on FAA research and includes appendices on autonomy, short takeoff and landing aircraft, and charging infrastructure. The document is not itself a regulation, but the FAA says its standards can be mandatory for projects supported by certain federal airport grants and Passenger Facility Charge funding.
Michael A.P. Meyers, manager of the FAA Airports Engineering Division, signed the industry letter requesting technical comments. FAA has disclosed no project budget, grant amount or procurement action with the draft.
The immediate milestone is a November 2 deadline for questions ahead of the FAA’s virtual industry day on November 10 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST. Written comments using the agency’s Excel matrix are due January 11, 2027. Airport designers, civil engineers, equipment manufacturers and powered-lift developers now have a defined window to influence the standards that may govern future federally supported facilities. FAA draft docket · Draft AC · Industry letter.
What happens next
Submit advance industry-day questions by November 2, 2026; FAA’s virtual industry day is November 10 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST, and written comments are due January 11, 2027.
Source for this milestone →Why it matters for the industry
The draft creates a near-term technical comment window for airport designers, engineers, equipment suppliers and powered-lift developers and may shape standards applied to future federally supported vertical-flight facilities.
Supporting source →Sources & reporting
- FAA draft advisory-circular docket · 2026-10-22
- Draft AC 150/5390-4 · 2026-10-22
- FAA industry letter · 2026-10-22
Sources checked 2026-10-26.