Electric vehicle takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Vertical Aerospace has said a newly awarded quality certification matches the standard used by Airbus and Boeing.
On November 12, 2026, Vertical Aerospace announced the British Standards Institution (BSI) had granted the company AS9100 certification, a globally recognized standard within aerospace.
According to Vertical Aerospace, the certification confirms that its “quality management system across design and production meets the standards used by manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing”.
The UK firm added that for potential customers the new certification “provides independent assurance in the processes, facilities, suppliers and teams behind Vertical’s future aircraft production and delivery”.
Vertical, which is making rigorous, elevated standards a key part of its business framework, believes it is the first eVTOL developer to achieve the AS9100 certification.
“We are leading the way in electric aviation by holding ourselves to the highest standards in aerospace,” Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical Aerospace, said. “Achieving AS9100 means our quality management system is certified against the same standard used by established manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing. It is what our customers expect. That is the discipline we are bringing to Valo, and to building a company customers can depend on.”
Developed by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG), AS9100 builds on ISO 9001 with requirements specific to aviation, space and defense.
Vertical said it achieved certification after a year-long program to “strengthen quality practices across the business, culminating in independent assessment by BSI”.
“Bringing a new generation of aircraft to market requires innovation backed by rigorous, internationally recognised quality standards,” Giancarlo Silvestri, Global Head of Aerospace and Defence (Assurance), BSI, said. “Achieving AS9100 accredited certification is an important step in Vertical’s development as an aerospace manufacturer, giving airline customers and operating partners greater confidence in the quality management foundations behind its ambitions.”
Recent Vertical Aerospace progress
In September 2026, Vertical officially opened a dedicated Aircraft Assembly Centre at its Flight Test Centre at Cotswold Airport.
The new facility will provide capacity to build certification-conforming aircraft, which will be used for compliance demonstration and verification testing as Vertical works towards its target of achieving Type Certification in 2029.
The center will also be used to retrofit one of the company’s prototype aircraft for hybrid-electric flight testing in the first half of 2027.
In September 2026, Simpson said: “The technology is in place and has been de-risked. As our focus moves to certification, industrialization and commercialization, we feel that now is the right time to explore our options for financing the next phase of our growth.”