Airbus Forms Air Mobility Initiative

Airbus is heading a Germany-based partnership aimed at “making urban air mobility within and between cities a reality.” Called the Air Mobility Initiative (AMI), the program will set up a series of research projects focused on three areas: electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, unmanned traffic management (UTM) services and airport and city integration. According to Airbus, AMI partners plan to first address the technological, infrastructural, legal, and social prerequisites for the implementation of advanced air transport.

“In many parts of the world, eVTOLs will offer a whole new mobility service in the near future,” said Markus May, Airbus head of operations for urban air mobility. “Airbus and the AMI partners are aware that the introduction of such a system requires the cooperation of many players with different competences. Our goal is to build a transport service that benefits society and this is what we are setting up here in Bavaria.”

Once the projects are ready, AMI is planning to carry out demonstration test flights in the region around Ingolstadt. Airbus says the initiative is expected to cost around €86 million ($90.7 million) over a period of three years to include €17 million ($18 million) in funding from the Free State of Bavaria and €24 million ($25 million) from the German federal government. Alongside Airbus, AMI members include the City of Ingolstadt, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Flugsicherung, Diehl Aerospace, Droniq, Munich Airport, Red Cross and Telekom.