TRANSPORTATION INSIGHTS | 4
SUMMARY OF AN ACRP INSIGHT EVENT
July 10–11, 2023 | Washington, DC
On-Demand Aviation
Services for Mobility,
Logistics, Emergency
Response, and
Humanitarian Use Cases
Adam Cohen, Rapporteur
University of California, Berkeley
Organized by the
Airport Cooperative Research Program
Sponsored by the
Federal Aviation Administration
Transportation Insights 4
ACRP Project 11-08(20-02)
ISBN 978-0-309-70972-9
© 2024 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Cover photo: 3-D rendering of an eVTOL and urban rooftop helipad.
NOTICE
This summary was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
This event was organized through TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) and sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
Suggested citation: Transportation Research Board. Transportation Insights 4: On-Demand Aviation Services for Mobility, Logistics, Emergency Response, and Humanitarian Use Cases. Summary of an ACRP Insight Event, July 10–11, 2023. Washington, DC: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2024.
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ACRP Insight Event Project Panel
Adam Bouchard, Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, Chair
Matthew Daus, Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP
Clint Harper, Metis Technology Solutions, Inc.
Christopher Hart, Hart Solutions LLC
Parimal Kopardekar, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Naashom Marx, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
Christopher J. Oswald, Airports Council International–North America (ACI-NA)
Yolanka Wulff, Community Air Mobility Initiative
Liaison
Keri Lyn Lyons, Federal Aviation Administration
Transportation Research Board Staff
Marci Greenberger, Manager, Airport Cooperative Research Program
Matthew J. Griffin, Senior Program Officer
Brittany A. Summerlin-Azeez, Program Coordinator
Publications Staff for Transportation Insights
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications
Linda A. Dziobek, Senior Editor
Jennifer J. Weeks, Publishing Projects Manager
ACRP OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE*
CHAIR
Marianne Csaky
LanzaJet
VICE CHAIR
Kimberly A. Kenville
University of North Dakota
MEMBERS
Balram “B” Bheodari
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Darryl Daniels
Jacobsen Daniels Associates
John Dermody
Federal Aviation Administration
Lance Lyttle
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Chad Makovsky
City of Phoenix (AZ)
Scott McMahon
Morristown Municipal Airport
Frank R. Miller
Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority
Ramon Ricondo
Ricondo and Associates, Inc.
Steve Sisneros
Southwest Airlines
Cathryn Stephens
Eugene Airport
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Justin Barkowski
American Association of Airport Executives
Sabrina Johnson
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Laura Rinaldi McKee
Airlines for America
Christopher J. Oswald
Airports Council International–North America
Gregory Pecoraro
National Association of State Aviation Officials
T.J. Schulz
Airport Consultants Council
Victoria Sheehan
Transportation Research Board
SECRETARY
Victoria Sheehan
Transportation Research Board
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2024 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*
OFFICERS
CHAIR: Carol A. Lewis, Professor, Transportation Studies, Texas Southern University, Houston
VICE CHAIR: Leslie S. Richards, General Manager, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Victoria Sheehan, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC
MEMBERS
Michael F. Ableson, CEO, Arrival Automotive–North America, Detroit, MI
James F. Albaugh, President and CEO, The Boeing Company (retired), Scottsdale, AZ
Carlos M. Braceras, Executive Director, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City
Douglas C. Ceva, Vice President, Customer Lead Solutions, Prologis, Inc., Jupiter, FL
Nancy Daubenberger, Commissioner of Transportation, Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul
Marie Therese Dominguez, Commissioner, New York State Department of Transportation, Albany
Chris T. Hendrickson, Hamerschlag University Professor of Engineering Emeritus, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Randell Iwasaki, President and CEO, Iwasaki Consulting Services, Walnut Creek, CA
Ashby Johnson, Executive Director, Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), Austin, TX
Joel M. Jundt, Secretary of Transportation, South Dakota Department of Transportation, Pierre
Hani S. Mahmassani, W.A. Patterson Distinguished Chair in Transportation; Director, Transportation Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Scott C. Marler, Director, Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames
Ricardo Martinez, Adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, GA
Michael R. McClellan, Vice President, Strategic Planning, Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk, VA
Russell McMurry, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta
Craig E. Philip, Research Professor and Director, VECTOR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Steward T.A. Pickett, Distinguished Senior Scientist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY
Susan A. Shaheen, Professor and Co-director, Transportation Sustainability Research Center, University of California, Berkeley
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Michael R. Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC
Shailen Bhatt, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Amit Bose, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, Washington, DC
Tristan Brown, Deputy Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Ann Carlson, Acting Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, DC
Steven Cliff, Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento, CA
Nuria I. Fernandez, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Washington, DC
LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Germantown, MD
William H. Graham, Jr. (Major General, U.S. Army), Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC
John T. Gray II, Senior Vice President, Policy and Economics, Association of American Railroads, Washington, DC
Robert C. Hampshire, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Eleftheria Kontou, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, and Chair, TRB Young Members Coordinating Council
Sue Lawless, Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Washington, DC
Karl Simon, Director, Transportation and Climate Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Paul P. Skoutelas, President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC
Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Secretary of Transportation and Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Jim Tymon, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC
___________________
* Membership as of February 2024.
* Membership as of February 2024.
Contents
Legislative Perspectives on AAM
Matt Daus, Moderator; Alex Bolton; Behnaz Razavi
Session 1: Fundamentals of On-Demand Aviation
Clint Harper, Moderator; Praveen Raju; Rex Alexander; Edward Espiritu; Scott Cary; Christopher Ash
Session 2: System Planning for On-Demand Aviation
Clint Harper, Moderator; Robin Grace; Paul Damron; Kathryn Purwin; Laura Chace
Daniel Friedenzohn, Moderator; Chris Hart; Laura Chace
Session 1: What Problems is On-Demand Aviation Trying to Solve?
Session 2: Stakeholder and Community Engagement
Yolanka Wulff, Moderator; Colleen D’Alessandro; Gaël Le Bris; Sjohnna Knack; Darlene Yaplee
Session 3: Scaling Infrastructure for AAM
Chris Oswald, Moderator; Alex Gertsen; Naashom Marx; Scott McMahon
Session 4: Security Considerations for AAM
Michael Rucinski, Moderator; Greg Bowles; Jens Hennig; John Murphy; Robert DeFrancesco
Preface
“On-Demand Aviation Services for Mobility, Logistics, Emergency Response, and Humanitarian Use Cases” [ACRP Project 11-08(20-02)], held July 10–11, 2023, at the Keck Center of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, DC, brought together practitioners from airports, advanced air mobility subject matter experts, and representatives from community organizations, state departments of transportation, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) among others to discuss the current state of on-demand aviation, public good use cases, and the challenges often associated with new and evolving technologies, including community acceptance, safety, and equitable access. The Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) organized the Insight Event. ACRP convenes Insight Events to provide a forum for dialogue and collaboration among professionals across sectors and industries on emerging topics of significance to airport operators.
ACRP is an industry-driven, applied research program that develops near-term, practical solutions to problems faced by airport operators. ACRP is authorized by Congress, sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and managed by TRB, a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. ACRP Insight Events are forums that foster dialogue among professionals across sectors, institutions, and industries. ACRP Insight Events convene airport industry leaders and subject matter experts in various fields to encourage discussion and promote broader and deeper insight on topics of significance to airport operators. These in-depth, face-to-face gatherings are designed to promote communication and collaboration, foster innovation, and help identify areas of future interest and research, especially for topics of emerging importance.
This Insight Event summary, prepared by rapporteur Adam Cohen of the University of California, Berkeley, is a compilation of the presentations and a factual summary of the ensuing discussions at the event. The project panel for the event was solely responsible for organizing “On-Demand Aviation Services for Mobility, Logistics, Emergency Response, and Humanitarian Use Cases,” organizing speakers, and coordinating activities during the event. Additional support was provided by Adam Cohen and Carolyn Gillette, Kyra Hall, and Ted Hogan of Eastern Research Group. The views contained in this Insight Event Summary are those of individual ACRP Insight Event participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all participants, the planning committee, TRB, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
This document was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purposes of this independent review are to
provide candid and critical comments that will assist TRB in making the published summary as sound as possible and to ensure that the document meets institutional requirements for clarity, objectivity, and responsiveness to the project charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
TRB thanks the following individuals for their review of the summary: Daniel Friedenzohn and Naashom Marx. Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they did not see the final draft of the summary before its release. Responsibility for the final content of this summary rests entirely with the rapporteur and the institution.
Acronyms
AAM | advanced air mobility |
ACRP | Airport Cooperative Research Program |
CAHM | Coalition for Advanced Health Mobility |
CAMI | Community Air Mobility Initiative |
eVTOL | electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft |
FAA | Federal Aviation Administration |
GAMA | General Aviation Manufacturers Association |
IPP | Integration Pilot Program |
ITSA | Intelligent Transportation Society of America |
MPO | metropolitan planning organization |
NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
NREL | National Renewable Energy Lab |
OEM | original equipment manufacturer |
TNC | transportation network company |
TRB | Transportation Research Board |
TSA | Transportation Security Administration |
UAM | urban air mobility |
UAS | uncrewed/unmanned aircraft systems |
U.S. DOT | U.S. Department of Transportation |