#AMRG Presents: Summary of "Advanced Air Mobility: A comparative review of policies from around the world—lessons for Australia"
David Ison PhD
Advanced Air Mobility Researcher, Aviation Planner, Academic Publishing Expert, Pilot, Writer, and Educator, Aviation Expert Witness
What?
Before AAM is used commercially, there are still a number of obstacles to overcome. Governments throughout the world are tasked with creating new laws and regulations in response to AAM's demands for reforms to the current air transportation system. In this work, we compare emerging policies in Australia with AAM policies from four different nations using a case study approach. We discovered that approaches to basic, more broad regulation vary from more thorough frameworks. The findings also indicate that Australia can benefit greatly from Dubai's model. In conclusion, our results point to the early stages of AAM policy development worldwide and offer guidance for potential future directions for AAM policy development in Australia and other countries.
Who?
Mirjam Wiedemann, Man Liang, Ganesh Keremane, & Kate Quigley
The University of New South Wales, School of Aviation; RMIT University, School of Engineering; University of South Australia, Business; University of South Australia, STEM.
Where?
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives - for full article click HERE.
AAM is Coming
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) has seen significant advancements in recent years, with numerous players and working groups established across major aviation organizations. AAM encompasses drone flights for transporting goods and people, with Urban Air Mobility (UAM) being a part of AAM. The industry attracted USD 7 billion in new investment in 2021, double the previous decade. The global eVTOL market is projected to be worth USD 1 trillion by 2040 and USD 9 trillion by 2050. In Australia, AAM can play a crucial role in better connecting people and goods. The Australian government and aviation regulators have set the foundations for a more advanced AAM policy, with the national emerging aviation technologies (NEAT) policy statement outlines 14 policy and regulatory initiatives aimed at creating an unmanned traffic management system. This paper focuses on comparing existing regulations from around the world to Australia's emerging policy.
UAM is part of a broader ecosystem of advanced air mobility, where consumers can access mobility and goods delivery services on demand. Three distinct uses of AAM aircraft include package delivery, personal air vehicles, and taxi services. Governance needs for UAM include urban airspace and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in an urban context. There are numerous research gaps, including policy and regulation. To make AAM a commercial reality, a sophisticated regulatory framework around the entire AAM ecosystem is crucial.
There are five major categories of regulation that need to be addressed:
The Australian Association for Unmanned Systems (AAUS) identified six areas for AAM to become a reality:
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Differences Across the Globe
The development of advanced air mobility (AAM) and vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOL/VTOLs) in various countries varies significantly. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has advanced policies, while China and the US are in their infancy. Key AAM regulatory considerations include:
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is advancing AAM in Europe with a draft comprehensive framework for consultation. However, adoption across all European member states remains uncertain. The US has been developing drones since 2006, with commercial use beginning in 2006 and recreational drones becoming popular in 2018. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published the first concept for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) operations in June 2020, focusing on defined corridors and established rules. The Concept of Operations v.2.0 was published in April 2023, clarifying stakeholder information sharing and air traffic control responsibilities. The FAA is aiming to integrate AAM aircraft into current standards and create performance-based regulation by creating consensus between industry, the FAA, and the public. The FAA is working on infrastructure design for electric VTOL (eVTOL) aircraft and is committed to including AAM and UAM in ongoing planning.
Progress has been made in the aircraft and operator/pilot certification process, integrating automated and electric aircraft into the airspace and international collaborations. Dubai, a pioneer in electric VTOL technology, aims to have 25% of vehicles autonomous by 2030, making drone delivery and flying air taxis a reality. The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has issued regulations on flying and registering drones and urban air mobility. The CAR-UAM Urban Air Mobility Operations policy aims to ensure safety, privacy, and security while protecting user data. The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) issued its own 'Drone Law' in 2020 to reduce risks from flies and promote the Emirate as a hub for drone manufacturing, smart transport, and innovation in the air transport industry.
Singapore, like Dubai, aims to be a first-mover in the Unmanned Aircraft (UAM) space, complementing its ambitions to be the world's first ' smart nation'. The Smart Nation strategy, launched in 2014, fosters seamless technologies and new opportunities in the digital economy. Singapore's smart urban mobility aims to offer land-scarce Singapore more efficient, safe, reliable, and enhanced transportation. Singapore does not distinguish between drones and UAM, but has a policy for 'unmanned aircraft systems'. The Air Navigation Act (Chapter 6) Part 101 Unmanned Aircraft Operation has been in force since December 2019, ensuring the safety of errant UA operations. In January 2020, CAAS implemented mandatory registration for unmanned aircraft (UA1), recognizing the different use cases in Singapore. The UAE's UAM policy is more evolved than other countries, partly due to its appetite for UAM in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and its national pride element.
For AAM to become a reality, industry and governments must collaborate to realize the potential of sustainable urban aviation. Australia is used as a case study to summarize current policy developments around drones and AAM and discuss possible high-level policy recommendations. The?Australian government published the National Emerging Aviation Technologies (NEAT) Policy Statement in May 2021, aiming to support the widespread adoption of emerging aviation technologies. The policy statement emphasizes international harmonization and acknowledges work completed by other governments in this area. The National Aeronautics and Atmospheric Administration (NEAT) is implementing several policy initiatives to promote the integration of drones for delivery services and passenger transport in Australia.
The Australian government is developing an Infrastructure Planning Framework to support local planning authorities in implementing drones and VTOL vehicles. The 'Drone Delivery Guidelines' were released for public consultation in November 2022, focusing on on-demand deliveries of food, drinks, medical supplies, or small packages. The country is also developing guidelines for Aircraft Access Management (AAM) and is aiming for harmonization across all eight Australian states and territories. Similar approaches to Dubai's AAM policies can be adopted for Australia's emerging AAM policy. Australia's slow progress towards advanced air mobility (AAM) policies is a result of its laissez-faire approach to drone regulation and its desire to modernize aviation standards. Countries like Dubai and Singapore have developed advanced AAM policies, positioning themselves as attractive investment locations for the emerging AAM sector. Australia needs to do more to stay in the race for VTOL air mobility and align with international standards and regulations. Dubai's new drone law could serve as a guideline for regulating various aspects of AAM, such as operations, operators, vertiports, fly zones, airspace, and data protection. Future research could explore the link between different aspects of investigated policies and societal acceptance in different geographies.
Summary
There is a lot of variety in terms of how individual countries, states, regions, and cities are planning for and managing the adoption of AAM and UAM. The key is to look see what has worked, if it is applicable to one's own environment and operation, and adopt whatever existing guidelines and policies have been successful so each user does not need to "reinvent the wheel." Plus, such collaboration will likely lead to more standardized and harmonized operations.
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