Urban Air Mobility
The Urban Air Mobility Taskforce helps POLIS members navigate through opportunities and challenges related to transport innovations in the lower-level airspace above densely populated areas.
Aerial services in U-space are not often integrated into local transport systems, yet they hold potential for enhancing mobility efficiency and sustainability.
This raises new responsibilities for local authorities, including ensuring safety, addressing public concerns, managing public space, coordinating services, and fostering economic development.
The Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Taskforce provides a platform for POLIS members to exchange experiences and define their approaches to UAM. This includes identifying objectives, anticipating risks, and considering core values. It also connects members with innovation communities, industry experts, European and national authorities, and funding opportunities while supporting the adoption of regulatory frameworks and technological advancements.

The Taskforce’s objectives are to:
- Raise awareness and bridge the knowledge gap between authorities and private stakeholders;
- Connect and share experiences and lessons learnt among public authorities;
- Support access to existing resources (policy, technologies, networks, funding).
The Taskforce collaborates with networks like UIC2 (UAM Initiative Cities’ Community), ARC (Airport Regions Council), and the European Network of U-Space stakeholders. It gathers members interested in UAM to exchange insights, discuss challenges, and connect with experts. Meetings highlight achievements, lessons learned, and frameworks for innovation. External cities and regions occasionally join to enhance collaboration.
POLIS also advances EU-funded research and innovation. For example, the USEPE project developed an automated drone separation method, D2-C2, to enhance safety and air traffic governance. Upcoming projects like MAIA and MUSE will explore airport accessibility with aerial services and assess UAM impacts on citizens’ quality of life.
Since 2021, the UAM ecosystem has rapidly evolved, pushing cities and regions to develop strategies addressing energy, data, planning, and mobility use cases. EU law requires local and regional authorities’ involvement in defining U-Space services and regulations. Now is the time for POLIS members to build capacity and prepare to lead in this emerging field.
Topic priorities for 2025
The topics being discussed by this Taskforce are:
- UAM governance at local, regional, and national levels and within multidepartment cooperation, ensuring integration in urban data, energy and economic strategies, as well as spatial planning;
- UAM and U-space services’ impact assessment and social acceptance
- UAM-related public space occupation, landing site requirements and management;
- UAM services, vehicles and operators’ certification processes, flight priorities and authorization management, related skills and capacity-building;
- Civil-military cooperation supporting drones’ application to urban systems and their resilience, in cooperation with POLIS Ukrainian members.
GLOSSARY
UAM
Urban Air Mobility is the subset of IAM operations conducted into, out of or within urban environments.
IAM
Innovative Air Mobility is the safe, secure, and sustainable air mobility of passengers and cargo enabled by new-generation technologies integrated into a multimodal transportation system.
IAS
Innovative Aerial Services is the set of operations and/or services that are of benefit to the citizens and to the aviation market, and that are enabled by new airborne technologies; the operations and/or services include both the transportation of passengers and/or cargo and aerial operations (e.g. surveillance, inspections, mapping, telecommunications networking, etc.).
AAM
Advanced Air Mobility can be used as a catch-all term encompassing all new and evolving air transportation systems, utilizing various technologies and techniques. These include electric, hybrid, and potentially autonomous AI-powered options.
RAM
Regional Air Mobility is another proposed application of AAM technology, aiming to connect smaller communities, rural areas, and towns – especially those struggling to get by with traditional transport methods.
U-Space
Set of new services relying on a high level of digitalisation and automation of functions and specific procedures designed to support safe, efficient and secure access to airspace for large numbers of drones.
USSP
U-Space Service Provider
eVTOL
Electrically powered aircraft capable of Vertical Take-off and Landing is a type of novel aircraft design that does not fall under one of the previously known categories of aeroplanes or helicopters, but has the capability to vertically take-off and land, have specific (distributed) propulsion features, and may be operated without a pilot at some time in the future.
VCA
VTOL-capable aircraft, a power-driven, heavier-than-air aircraft, other than an aeroplane or rotorcraft, capable of performing vertical take-off and landing by means of lift and thrust units used to provide lift during take-off and landing.
UAV or UAS
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or Unmanned Aerial System, or simply a drone, consists of three key components:
- Unmanned Aircraft (UA): This refers to an aircraft that operates autonomously or is remotely piloted without a human pilot on board. UAs can vary in size, from hand-launched models to purpose-built vehicles comparable in size to conventional fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft;
- Control System: The control system can be either autonomous or human-operated. It is typically located on the ground, on a ship, or even on another airborne platform. This system communicates with the UAV and provides commands for its operation;
- Command and Control (C2) System: Also known as a communication, command, and control (C3) system, this component links the control system to the UAV. It facilitates communication, data exchange, and coordination between the ground operator and the aircraft.
ATM
Air Traffic Management
UTM
Unmanned aerial Traffic Management
ANSP
Air Navigation Service Provider
EASA
European Aviation Safety Agency
SESAR JU
Single European Sky ATM Research Joint Undertaking
BVLOS
Beyond Visual Line of Sight
FAA
Federal Aviation Authority (mostly designing the FAA of the USA)
CAA
Civil Aviation Authority
For further information
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Manon Coyne, Urban Air Mobility Taskforce Coordinator.