Singapore and EU to collaborate on air taxi safety rules in time for 2024 timeline

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s aviation authority will work more closely with European authorities in hopes of achieving widespread use of unmanned drones and air taxis by 2024.

This comes after the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) signed an agreement with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Tuesday to cooperate in areas such as personnel training and safety regulations.

The agreement is the first international agreement on urban air mobility that CAAS has signed with a foreign regulator. Through that, the two authorities said the certification standard could be worth $75 billion by 2035, and as early as 2024 he expects air taxis to be operational, keeping pace with a rapidly developing industry. We want to be able to match.

Under a memorandum signed on Tuesday, CAAS and EASA will develop safety standards and produce safety certificates for air taxis and drones.

They will also co-host urban air mobility conferences and events to share knowledge, while also discussing strategies for public outreach to help the public better navigate this new mode of transportation. .

“The last few years have seen tremendous progress in the development of unmanned aerial systems and urban air mobility,” said CAAS Executive Director Han Kok Juan at the Goodwood Park Hotel on Tuesday when the MOU was signed. Told.

“Unfolding and realizing their full potential will require the development of accompanying regulations to ensure safety and security and build public trust and acceptance. We’ve reached a tipping point.”

The EU first announced regulations for drones in 2019. March 2022 also saw the completion of the world’s first guidance on the design of a vertiport, a heliport-like structure for air taxis to take off and land.

Luc Tytgat, EASA Strategy and Safety Officer, said: “There is a common need to establish international standards…even though most business is done at a more local level.”

The agreement was signed alongside the inaugural EU-Asia Symposium on Unmanned Aerial Systems and Urban Air Mobility in Singapore from Tuesday to Friday.

The event was attended by over 20 civil aviation authorities from Europe and Asia including India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Nepal. Countries around the world are turning their attention to a burgeoning sector that is touted as greener, more efficient and safer.

singapore is The first commercial flying taxi service is expected to fly over Marina Bay as early as 2024. France is aiming to introduce it at the Paris Olympics in the same year.

The Republic has previously signed two agreements with advanced air mobility start-ups Skyports and Volocopter. Might turn Seletar into an air hub A place where flying taxis can take off, land, and maintain.