Companies team up to fly air taxis from Daegu to new airport

Industry

Published: 27 Oct. 2022, 16:05 Updated: 27 Oct. 2022, 19:05

Companies team up to fly air taxis from Daegu to new airport

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, center, and SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang, second from left, pose during a signing ceremony in Daegu Thursday with representatives of Tmap Mobility, Hanwha Systems, and Korea Airports Corporation. [SK TELECOM]

SK Telecom, the Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) and Hanwha Systems will build a flying taxi system in Daegu with Tmap Mobility.

The four companies on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Daegu provincial government to build urban air mobility (UAM) infrastructure in the southeastern city.

The goal is to run an air shuttle service between downtown Daegu and an airport being built nearby region starting in 2030.

The airport, set for completion by 2030, will straddle the boundaries of Uiseong and Gunwi counties in North Gyeongsang. About 47 kilometers north of Daegu, the airport will replace the military air base and civilian airport currently used in the city.

SK Telecom, KAC and Hanwha Systems have been working on UAM since last year. In April, they formed the K-UAM Dream Team consortium with the Korea Transport Institute and Korea Meteorological Institute.

SK Telecom will oversee the UAM service and build the network infrastructure. KAC will establish the take-off and landing ports for air taxis and a transportation management system. Hanwha Systems, a defense and IT company, will develop and operate the air taxis.

Tmap Mobility, which is 60.11 percent owned by SK Square, will develop a mobility service to connect the UAM with the existing transportation system. The Daegu city government will provide infrastructure and administrative support.

The signing ceremony was held Thursday at Exco, where the Daegu International Future Auto & Mobility Expo is taking place from Thursday to Saturday, with Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang in attendance.

“We will strive for an organic integration of service with the new airport, which is expected to become a hub for transportation and logistics,” said Ryu.

The K-UAM Dream Team consortium also signed an MOU with the Jeju provincial government to begin Korea’s first commercial operation of an air taxi service by 2025 on the island.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]