The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a partnership with the Korean Office of Civil Aviation (KOCA) on future Advanced Air Mobility aircraft development and operations on Monday. The two agencies aim to work together to promote the safety oversight of these new technologies being developed, including airworthiness, licensing, and operations.

Developing a secure Advance Air Mobility environment

Countries around the world are rushing to establish a complete legal framework that suits what is being called by the FAA itself 'a new era of aviation.' Advanced Air Mobility –also known simply as AAM– is a term for aircraft that will be highly automated and electric, such as air taxis and electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

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The FAA and KOCA have agreed to partner on AAM developments and operations. Under a Declaration of Cooperation, they will collaborate on projects and share ideas, information, skills, and techniques, the FAA announced in a statement. Billy Nolen, Acting FAA administrator, said,

“Collaborating with our international partners on safely integrating these new technologies will create more efficient, sustainable, and equitable transportation options.”

The FAA has already announced partnerships with other countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. These countries aim to harmonize their certification criteria and integration plans.

A Vertical Aerospace eVTOL render for Virgin Atlantic
Photo: Virgin Atlantic.

The future AAM

The rapid development of new technologies such as drones, which have already begun delivering cargo packages throughout the world, gives us a glimpse of what is coming next. Within this decade, new types of aircraft transporting people and equipment will be introduced, many addressing markets not available to traditional airplanes.

According to NASA, by 2030, there will be as many as 500 million flights a year for package delivery services and 750 million flights a year for air metro services. This is why the development of Advanced Air Mobility is crucial to help ensure this new airspace is appropriately managed.

An eVTOL with GOL's livery
Photo: GOL.

In this process, the FAA’s job is to ensure that this new aircraft generation maintains the high level of safety defining modern aviation. These include certifying these new aircraft through the existing regulations but tailoring the rules to new concepts, developing new infrastructure such as vertiports, for which the FAA has already designed a standard that will serve as the foundation, and more.

Urban Air Mobility, which is the most publicized and widely known development area, is only a part of the wider Advanced Air Mobility. It is also one of the most challenging aspects of AAM. It is challenging because buildings make tracking aircraft difficult; therefore, countries must take special precautions to ensure aircraft do not harm people or buildings.

In the last few years, we have published plenty of stories of companies reaching new milestones in their development. For instance, Horizon Aircraft has recently completed the hover testing of its eVTOL prototype, and Archer Aviation saying it aims to build up to 250 air taxis by 2050. United Airlines, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, GOL Linhas Aéreas, and many more airlines have signed future deals to acquire eVTOL aircraft.

Check out Simple Flying’s ranking of the companies emerging as the front-runners in the eVTOL market in 2023.

What do you think about the development of the future Advanced Air Mobility ecosystem? Let us know in the comments below.