Malaysia Airports has signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Skyports, the designer and operator of vertiport infrastructure for electric air taxis, and Volocopter, the pioneer of Urban Air Mobility (UAM). As a first step, the parties will combine their distinct aerospace and aviation expertise to conduct a feasibility study examining suitable vertiport solutions to enable the safe take-off and landing of passenger eVTOL vehicles, considering factors such as demand, customer flow, and how to integrate UAM operations.
The Asia Pacific region is expected to capture around 45% of the advanced air mobility (AAM) market by 2035, translating to US$9.5 billion. The outcome of this venture will be a game-changer in terms of air travel offerings. The collaboration forms part of the five-year Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang (LTSAAS) regeneration plan. It will explore the deployment of revolutionary electric air taxi services at LTSAAS as well as other locations throughout Malaysia, putting the country amongst the leaders in the region in terms of willingness to implement UAM.
Malaysia Airports' Group CEO, Dato' Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh, said: “Air taxi technology and revolution is the next big thing that we want to see happen in Malaysian aviation. With LTSAAS offering a synergistic ecosystem within the aviation and aerospace sectors, it is timely for us to explore this new service as it complements other key developments of the regeneration initiative. Volocopter and Skyports are both leaders in their respective fields of advanced air mobility and we hope to further futureproof LTSAAS's position in Asia Pacific by catering to research, assembly, manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in addition to air taxi operations. Our objective is to provide end-to-end, mid-to-high-value capabilities and solutions that are anchored by top-tier operators.”
