Skyports Infrastructure is tapped for Japan’s Phase 2 AAM ConOp

The advanced air mobility (AAM) infrastructure unit of UK-based drone services specialist Skyports has been chosen for the second phase of a concept of operations (ConOps) project by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), to prepare for the arrival of air taxi operation in the country.

Skyports Infrastructure announced it had been retained by the JCAB to extend its work from the initial stage of the ConOps study into its second phase. The effort looks to define Japan’s framework for the development and implementation of air taxi and other sustainable aerial services in the country, and also involves Tokyo-based construction giant Kanematsu Corporation and AAM competitor Eve Mobility.

The Skyports Infrastructure communiqué on the development said results of the first chapter of the ConOps – which were released last March – established the foundations for initial commercial AAM activity in Japan, and set objectives for scaling air taxi and other services across the country. Also included were proposals on the location and composition of necessary ground facilities, and their integration into the nation’s wider transportation assets.

Skyports said the second phase will build on those findings by factoring in changes in global AAM development and regulation since. That will in part draw on the company’s own continuing testing at its repurposed London Heliport terminal, and its participation in preparing the infrastructure and air traffic systems being prepared for the world’s first air taxi flights planned for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Atsushi Okada, Skyports Infrastructure’s country lead in Japan, said the company’s continued involvement in the second part of the ConOpps will help outline key workstreams and timelines, and stress the need for starting the process of preparing critical ground facilities and regulation in time for nearing AAM services.

“The ConOps lays the groundwork for Japan’s advanced air mobility industry,” Okada explained. “The convergence of public and private stakeholders working towards the goal of enabling Japan’s future AAM industry is an indicator of two things: first, that collaboration between industry and government is critical to our mission; and second, that the time has come for execution.”