Urban air mobility commercialization delayed to focus on strengthening safety standards

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Urban air mobility commercialization delayed to focus on strengthening safety standards

Published: 14 May. 2025, 09:52

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Joby Aviation's S4 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft [YONHAP]

The timeline for the commercialization of urban air mobility (UAM) services, considered a promising sector in the mobility industry, is expected to be delayed from its original target. This is due to the trend of strengthened safety standards following a series of aviation accidents, as well as the lack of progress in related infrastructure development.

Supernal, Hyundai Motor Group’s UAM development subsidiary, conducted the first test flight of its electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), the S-A2, in the United States last March, according to the aviation industry on Friday.

The S-A2, which Supernal unveiled last year at the electronics and information technology exhibition CES 2024, is the company’s first product and can carry up to four passengers. Supernal plans to commercialize the S-A2 by 2028 after receiving certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but recently there has been debate over the feasibility of achieving this goal.

Joby Aviation, considered the global leader in the UAM market, has postponed the commercialization of its aircraft from 2024 to 2026.

However, with the FAA certification process taking longer, there are now concerns that even this timeline may be uncertain. The FAA conducts a five-stage type certification process to verify whether the aircraft is designed and manufactured in compliance with safety standards, and although Joby Aviation became the first in the industry to obtain stage 3 certification last year, it remains at stage 4 to this day.

On top of this, concerns about aviation safety are growing due to a series of fatal aircraft accidents worldwide.

In Korea, 179 people died in a Jeju Air passenger plane accident at Muan Airport last December, and in the U.S. capital, Washington, a collision between a passenger aircraft and a helicopter in January resulted in 67 deaths. Since UAM aircraft are smaller than passenger planes, they are more vulnerable to bird strikes and, in the event of an accident, the potential for urban damage is greater, so stricter safety standards may be required.

Even if a stable UAM aircraft is released, there is still a long way to go before commercial operation. Large-scale infrastructure is needed, including UAM vertiports, control facilities and aircraft charging stations. Building a new 5G communication network at UAM flight altitudes of 300 to 500 meters (984.2 to 1,640.4 feet) is also necessary.

“In order for aircraft to repeatedly take off and land at each vertiport, various facilities such as control and communication must be established,” said a domestic aviation industry official. “Even if a huge amount of capital is invested to enable urban air travel, whether consumers will actually pay to use it is another issue.”

As the commercialization of UAM services is delayed, deficits at UAM manufacturers are snowballing. According to Bloomberg, Joby Aviation’s annual net loss increased from $172.6 million in 2021 to $608 million last year.

In order to raise business funds, Joby Aviation issued 40 million common shares last year and raised $220 million from investors. Supernal also saw its operating loss increase by 236.6 percent in two years, from 195.6 billion won in 2022 to 658.4 billion won last year.

Despite the large-scale deficits, global companies are not giving up on the UAM business in order to preempt the future mobility market.

U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley projected that the global UAM market will reach $1 trillion by 2040. As the industry requires various technologies across sectors such as aircraft, operations and communications, its industrial significance is also high.

In Korea, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is operating special regulatory zones in Goheung, South Jeolla, and the Ara Waterway in Incheon, aiming to commercialize the service in the capital region within this year. Currently, 43 companies from sectors including mobility, aviation, communication and construction have formed 10 consortiums and are challenging UAM operations.

However, an industry official said, “Given the current progress, I don’t know if commercialization is possible within this year,” and refrained from further comment.

“Although UAM technology has advanced rapidly recently, many issues that require social consensus, such as accident liability, remain, so it will take considerable time to commercialize,” said Lee Yoon-cheol, professor of business administration at Korea Aerospace University. “UAM is an industry where advanced technologies in areas such as materials, autonomous driving and satellite communication are applied, so its competitiveness carries great significance and active promotion policies are needed.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY OH SAM-GWON [[email protected]]