Advanced Air Mobility
What is Advanced Air Mobility?
Imagine a future where medical supplies can be delivered to a remote island within minutes, emergency services can access hard-to-reach locations faster than ever before, and new air transport services complement existing road, rail, and maritime networks.
This is the vision of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)!
AAM refers to the use of innovative aircraft, drones, and digital technologies to provide new ways of transporting people, goods, and services through the air. It is not just about the aircraft themselves, but it is about creating an entire ecosystem that allows these operations to be safe, efficient, and integrated into everyday life.
Across Europe, AAM is being developed to support a wide range of applications, from medical deliveries and emergency response missions to infrastructure inspections, environmental monitoring, and future passenger transport services.
AAM is closely linked to the concept of Innovative Air Mobility (IAM), promoted by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) as part of the broader transformation of the aviation sector.
Pillars of AAM:
- VTOL-capable aircraft: Aircraft able to take off and land vertically, including eVTOLs. The document explains basic vs enhanced certification categories.
- Vertiports: Physical infrastructure for VTOL/eVTOL take-off, landing, charging, passenger boarding, and operational management.
- Concept of Operations (ConOps): the operational and digital frameworks that govern how these aircraft safely interact with other airspace users.
What is U-space?
As more drones take to the skies, there needs to be a way for them to operate safely and efficiently alongside each other and alongside traditional aviation.
This is where U-space comes in!
U-space is the European framework designed to enable the safe, secure, and efficient integration of drones into airspace. It introduces a highly digital and automated environment where drones, operators, service providers, and aviation authorities can exchange information in real time and coordinate operations safely.
Established through European regulations and developed under the guidance of EASA and SESAR, U-space provides the operational foundation for large-scale drone deployment and future Advanced Air Mobility services. It is built around principles of safety, automation, interoperability, scalability, and seamless integration with conventional aviation systems.
Core U-space services include:
- Network Identification
- Geo-awareness
- Flight Authorisation
- Traffic Information Services
Together, these services create a common digital environment where flights can be planned, authorised, monitored, and coordinated efficiently. U-space is a key building block for the future of Advanced Air Mobility, enabling everything from drone deliveries and infrastructure inspections to more advanced air mobility services.
European Drone Strategy 2.0
Europe has a clear vision for the future of drones and Advanced Air Mobility.
Through the European Drone Strategy 2.0, the European Commission aims to create a safe, sustainable, and innovative drone ecosystem that benefits citizens, businesses, and public authorities.
The strategy focuses on enabling new services while ensuring high levels of safety, security, privacy, and environmental responsibility. It supports the development of technologies, regulations, infrastructure, and skills that will help Europe remain at the forefront of drone innovation.
From medical deliveries and emergency response to logistics and environmental monitoring, drones are expected to play an increasingly important role in addressing societal challenges and supporting economic growth.
The strategy also recognises the importance of public acceptance, ensuring that the development of these technologies takes place in a transparent and responsible manner.
Use Cases
- Healthcare and Emergency Response
Drones are already helping healthcare providers and emergency services deliver faster and more effective support.
They can transport medical supplies, laboratory samples, blood products, and medicines to locations that are difficult to reach by road. They can also assist firefighters, search and rescue teams, and civil protection authorities by providing real-time information during emergencies.
- Logistics and Delivery
Drone-based logistics can help move goods more quickly and efficiently, particularly in areas with limited transport options.
Whether delivering critical supplies to islands, supporting last-mile deliveries, or improving supply chain resilience, drones have the potential to complement existing transport networks and reduce delivery times.
- Public Safety
Public authorities increasingly use drones to improve situational awareness and support decision-making.
Applications include disaster response, crowd monitoring, search and rescue missions, wildfire detection, and infrastructure surveillance. By providing real-time aerial information, drones help authorities respond more effectively to incidents and emergencies.
- Infrastructure and Environment
Drones offer a safer and more efficient way to inspect critical infrastructure such as bridges, power lines, railways, and telecommunications networks.
They also support environmental monitoring, helping organisations track wildlife, assess vegetation health, monitor coastal areas, and collect valuable data for sustainability initiatives.
- Agriculture
In agriculture, drones help farmers monitor crops, optimise irrigation, identify plant diseases, and improve resource management.
These technologies support more sustainable farming practices while helping increase productivity and reduce environmental impact.
Resources
Interested in learning more?
Browse our selection of key resources, regulations, strategic roadmaps, and guidance material on drones, U-space, Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), and Artificial Intelligence from trusted European and international sources.
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The percentage of individuals inhabiting metropolitan landscapes has been seeing a marked increase per decade – in Greece particularly it is estimated that 70% of the population lives in the country’s major urban centres – making transport within these areas particularly problematic.
Urban Air Mobility is a new air transportation system for passengers and cargo in and around densely populated and built environments, made possible by vertical take-off and landing electric aircraft (eVTOL) equipped with new technologies such as enhanced battery technologies and electric propulsion. These aircraft will have a pilot on board or be remotely piloted
WHEN WILL URBAN AIR MOBILITY APPEAR IN EUROPEAN CITIES?
Some UAM operations are already taking place in third countries, such as Switzerland, for instance for the delivery of goods or of medical equipment.
In Europe, UAM solutions are currently being tested through pilot projects and demonstrators. Commercial UAM operations in the EU could happen within 3 to 5 years! Read about HUSI’s contribution to the advancement of UAM through pilot projects here.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is expected to create environmental benefits as well as advantages for citizen and businesses – related to commercial as well as emergency use cases. Within the specific context of the standardization of unmanned aerial vehicle operation, in place of other transport methods, the alleviation of the conditions produced by carbon emissions, fossil fuel extraction and urban congestion, amongst others, is well documented. HUSI is working within this framework to create an integrated approach to address mobility and supply chains, testing balanced strategies to face the rising challenges of these two growing sectors and to achieve sustainable development and a better quality of life in the participating cities.