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For the first time in 70 years, five nations have united to align on certification for a new class of aircraft, including “air taxis”, also known as vertical take-off and landing vehicles (VTOL), or advanced air mobility.
The move on Tuesday is a historic for the future of flying: VTOLs form a whole new class of aircraft and are about to change how we think about the skies.
What have they agreed upon?
This five-country alliance have banded together to have a shared roadmap for certifying Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft to ensure safety. The move could also help advance innovation in the eVTOL sector while allowing these countries to keep their edge in next-generation aviation tech.
The five countries are:
- US
- UK
- Canada
- Australia, and
- New Zealand
Together, they have joined forces under the banner of the National Aviation Authority (NAA) Network.
It’s a coup for the five nations, like forming an alliance of watchdogs and drivers of the upcoming air taxi economy.
It remains unclear, though, if Japan and South Korea are also joining the network.
Their mission: Make the skies friendlier, quieter, cleaner — without having to invent five separate rulebooks to certify them.
Why now?
Because the world is on the cusp of flying differently. The jet age gave us long-haul flying in a packed tube.
