Municipality & State Agency
How city planners and state DOTs use AirIndex to identify regulatory gaps, prioritize actions, and track readiness for commercial eVTOL operations.
A state aviation director is planning the first interstate AAM corridor. The anchor city on the state side scores 25 out of 100 on AirIndex — NASCENT tier. The corridor announcement is public. Operators are evaluating where to launch. But the city’s zoning ordinance doesn’t define vertiport as a permitted use. The fire code doesn’t reference NFPA 418. The permit process has no FAA airspace determination requirement. None of these gaps require state legislation or private capital. They require city council action. Nobody told them.
How the engagement works
| Step | Who | What happens | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AirIndex | Scores the market across 7 factors from 1,900+ classified regulatory documents, federal filings, and legislative records. Identifies the specific gaps suppressing the score. | Score + factor breakdown |
| 2 | AirIndex | Runs a five-question ordinance audit: correct FAA terminology, vertiport as permitted use, FAA airspace determination in permit process, NFPA 418 in fire code, state enforcement posture. | Audit: YES / PARTIAL / NO per question |
| 3 | AirIndex | Produces a Market Intelligence Briefing: current score, ordinance audit results, gap roadmap with specific actions, score trajectory per action taken, peer market comparison, June 2026 AC alignment guidance. | Market Intelligence Briefing PDF |
| 4 | City / DOT | Reviews the briefing. Prioritizes actions by ease and impact. City council enacts zoning amendment. Score moves from 25 to 40 — crossing from NASCENT to EARLY tier. | Score improvement + operator visibility |
| 5 | AirIndex | Monitors score changes continuously. Alerts when a factor moves. Quarterly briefing update tracks progress against the roadmap. | Ongoing readiness tracking |
Starting at 25/NASCENT: No vertiport zoning → City Council enacts vertiport as permitted use → 40/EARLY. FAA terminology not in city code → Replace ‘helipad’ with FAA-defined terms → +8 pts. All four ordinance gaps combined: four city-level actions, no state legislation required → 52/MODERATE.
| Market Intelligence Briefing | Full seven-factor breakdown with primary source citations, ordinance audit, gap roadmap with ease × impact prioritization, peer market comparison, 12-month score trajectory tied to specific actions. | Discovery call — then scoped |
| Platform access | Authenticated access to live scores, factor breakdowns, regulatory pipeline, score change alerts, and federal program gap analysis across all 25 markets. | Included with briefing |
| Ongoing monitoring | Quarterly score update tied to actions taken. Alerts when legislation advances, operator announces market entry, or federal program changes affect eligibility. | Annual renewal |