| This image of an urban air mobility vehicle on a test flight is provided by the Seoul city government. Yonhap |
The Seoul city government will conduct test flights of "flying vehicles" on a route between Yeouido and Jamsil next year as part of a project to commercialize new means of transportation in urban areas around 2025, officials said Thursday.
Flying vehicles, known as urban air mobility (UAM), use highly automated aircraft for passengers or cargo transport at lower altitude within urban and suburban areas without the necessity of runways. Korea aims to put such vehicles into service in metropolitan areas around 2025.
The Seoul city government, together with the land ministry, will carry out a two-stage demonstration test in the second half of this year to verify and ensure the safety of the project, city officials said.
The city will conduct the first-stage study in open terrain in the second half of 2023, select preferred project operators and launch the second-stage test for the capital area next year. Flight routes, vehicle safety, aviation communication networks, noise pollution and others will be subject to the test in the second stage.
Several flight routes have been selected for the second-stage test, including an 18-kilometer distance between Gimpo International Airport to the western district of Yeouido and an 8-km route between the southern districts of Jamsil and Suseo, both in Seoul, as well as two routes each in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, a city west of Seoul.
The city is also currently in the process of finding locations to host vertiports, landing or takeoff platforms for UAM vehicles.
The city plans to unveil later this year its plan on UAM, detailing its mid- and long-term goals on introducing UAM vehicles. (Yonhap)