Saudi Arabia gives wings to urban air mobility

Kingdom’s aviation industry is scaling new heights, aims to generate $100m by 2030

Aviation experts and leaders will gather from all over the world to attend the Future Aviation Forum, a two-day event to showcase the advancements in international air travel, as Saudi Arabia aims to generate $100 million from the aviation sector by 2030.

Led by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the event will feature over 120 speakers and 2,000 attendees with 40 sessions revolving around passenger experience, sustainability and postCOVID-19 recovery.

Among other sunrise sectors, the Kingdom’s aviation industry is scaling new heights to realize the ambitious Vision 2030 blueprint.

The transport and logistics sector is already in the spotlight with NEOM, the Kingdom’s $500 billion development project, toying with the idea of flying taxis to establish vertical logistics services integrated with zero-emission public transit systems.

The giga-project late last year announced a joint venture with German aircraft manufacturer Volocopter to build and operate the world’s first bespoke public vertical mobility system.

If this was not enough, Airbus last month inked a deal with The Helicopter Co., one of the first licensed helicopter operators in the Kingdom backed by the Public Investment Fund, to build a global urban air-mobility ecosystem.

The agreement will introduce a new fleet of helicopters set to operate in the Kingdom, besides decarbonizing the flight operations of Airbus products in THC’s airplanes. THC presently operates 10 H125 helicopters and, with the agreement, will further add 20 H145s and six ACH160s with options to increase the fleet further.

Family-owned investment firm Jameel Investment Management Co. is also participating in the flyingtaxis industry in Saudi Arabia. The firm has recently participated in a $590 million Series C funding round in Santa Cruz-based company Joby Aviation.