Malaysia Airports to study feasibility of air taxi services

 

Malaysia Airports has signed a tripartite MoU with vertiport company Skyports and urban air mobility (UAM) pioneer Volocopter to explore the deployment of electric air taxi services in Malaysia.

As a first step, the parties will conduct a feasibility study examining suitable vertiport solutions to enable the safe take-off and landing of passenger eVTOL vehicles, considering factors such as demand, customer flow, and how to integrate UAM operations.

The collaboration forms part of the five-year Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang (LTSAAS) Regeneration plan. It will explore the deployment of electric air taxi services at LTSAAS as well as other locations throughout Malaysia.

Malaysia Airports’ Group CEO, Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh, said: “Air taxi technology and revolution is the next big thing that we want to see happen in Malaysian aviation. With LTSAAS offering a synergistic ecosystem within the aviation and aerospace sectors, it is timely for us to explore this new service as it complements other key developments of the regeneration initiative.

“Volocopter and Skyports are both leaders in their respective fields of advanced air mobility and we hope to further future-proof LTSAAS’s position in Asia-Pacific by catering to research, assembly, manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul, in addition to air taxi operations. Our objective is to provide end-to-end, mid- to high-value capabilities and solutions that are anchored by top-tier operators.

“LTSAAS Regeneration will offer various development opportunities to aviation and aerospace players worldwide, thus, echoing the government’s original intent to turn LTSAAS into both an international aerospace centre and business aviation hub.”

-TTG Asia.