Regulation 2 August 2026 8 min
EASA SC-VTOL and What It Means for UK Certification
How EASA's SC-VTOL special condition shapes eVTOL airworthiness in Europe, and the practical route to UK CAA acceptance for London operations.
EASA created SC-VTOL-01 because neither CS-23 nor CS-27 fitted distributed-electric lift aircraft. It introduces enhanced and basic categories, with the enhanced category demanding continued safe flight and landing after any single failure.
Why the category matters commercially
Enhanced-category certification is what permits flight over congested areas — the entire premise of a London network. Basic-category aircraft are limited to routes that avoid it.
The UK path
UK CAA has run parallel workstreams and sandbox activity, including published case-study material with manufacturers, which reduces duplication for programmes already anchored to EASA.
Sources & further reading
- EASA — SC-VTOL-01 special condition for small-category VTOL aircraft
- EASA — Rotorcraft & VTOL domain hub
- UK CAA — Future Air Mobility Sandbox: Eve case study
- UK CAA — CAP 2538: Considerations for aerodromes and vertiports operating VTOL aircraft
- FlightGlobal — Vertical Aerospace confirms new delay to Valo certification