Air taxi news from the Far East

South Korea is ramping up preparations for drone passenger transport, with plans to launch an air taxi service by 2026 and autonomous urban air mobility (UAM) operations by the next decade.

South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) said it hopes to organise the launch of commercial air taxi services by the end of 2025 and begin testing automated flights in 2030 as the country looks to expand its overstretched UAM alternatives. Following trials in urban environments, MLIT hopes to license fully autonomous air taxis by 2035.

Malaysia Airports, Skyports and Volocopter join forces to develop eVTOL air taxis

Aircraft platform operator Malaysia Airports has announced that it is teaming up with urban air mobility (UAM) company Volocopter and Skyports to organise and develop the infrastructure and services for the country’s future eVTOL air taxi business.

Under the terms of the trio’s Memorandum of Understanding, Skyports and Volocopter will apply their expertise in the design and construction of vertiport infrastructure and the manufacture of air taxi vehicles to Malaysia Airports’ efforts to launch UAM services.

The initial chapter of the collaboration will produce a feasibility study to identify suitable vertiport locations and operational areas for eVTOL drones in Malaysia. The primary criteria for site selection will include anticipated customer demand, passenger flow, and the ability to integrate the new air taxi and medium-haul AAM operations into existing facilities.

Source: malaysiaairports.com