ISO 5491:2023

Overview

ISO 5491:2023 - "Vertiports - Infrastructure and equipment for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) of electrically powered cargo unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)" specifies requirements for constructing type A (micro) vertiports used for electrically powered cargo UAS. The standard addresses both physical vertiport hardware and its connection to a Vertiport Information System (VIS), focusing on safety, sensing, communication and information exchange for automated, non‑visual logistics operations.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and applicability
  • Applies to micro vertiports as defined in ISO 5015-2 and intended mainly for logistics-based, automatic navigation (non‑visual flight).
• Vertiport design (manufacturer responsibilities)
  • Functional requirements: obstacle detection, environmental monitoring (wind speed/direction, rainfall, temperature), GNSS signal strength measurement (recommendation for high‑accuracy methods such as RTK), bearing load and weathering resistance marking.
  • Visibility and safety: lighting for visibility/night use, audible/visual approach announcements, fixed installation and impact mitigation.
  • Communications: transmission of sensor parameters and static/dynamic information to the VIS; initial static information provisioning split between manufacturer-set and operator-set fields (e.g., fixed ID vs. IP/VIS settings).
  • Operations: take‑off/landing permissibility decisions based on sensor data, surface preparation per external system (ES) directions.
  • Optional/encouraged capability: battery charging/discharging or battery swapping support.
• Vertiport Information System (VIS) / Service provider responsibilities
  • VIS acts as central manager of dynamic and static data, intermediating between vertiport and external systems (UTM, logistics platforms).
  • Requirements for VIS design, communication, safety assurance, logging and user interfaces follow from the standard’s architecture.
• Safety, quality control and documentation
  • System reliability, logs, instruction manuals and quality control processes are required to support safe vertiport operation.

Applications and users

• Primary applications
  • Micro vertiports for last‑mile cargo delivery, automated logistics hubs, on‑demand small‑cargo VTOL operations.
• Who uses ISO 5491:2023
  • Vertiport manufacturers and integrators
  • Vertiport operators and VIS service providers
  • UAS/UTM service providers, logistics companies and urban planners
  • Regulators and certification bodies defining infrastructure requirements for cargo UAS
• Practical benefits include standardizing sensor and communication interfaces, improving safety for automated VTOL cargo operations, and enabling interoperability with UTM and external systems.

Related standards

• ISO 5015-2 - Operation of vertiports for VTOL unmanned aircraft (UA)
• ISO 23629-5 / ISO 23629-12 - UAS Traffic Management (UTM) functional structure and service provider requirements
• ISO 21384-4 - UAS vocabulary

Keywords: ISO 5491:2023, vertiport, VIS, VTOL, UAS, cargo unmanned aircraft, type A micro vertiport, GNSS, RTK, UTM, vertiport information system.