The first Global Urban Air Summit is set to bring together a diverse cross-section of innovators from the fast-emerging electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) sector with regulators and investors. The event will be held at the UK’s Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre from September 3 to 4.
The summit’s agenda will begin with a global market overview before focusing on topics such as on-demand ridesharing, ground infrastructure, air traffic management, safety, batteries, 5G communications platforms, and investment opportunities. Among the aircraft manufacturers present will be Airbus, Boeing, Airspace Experience Technologies, Ehang, Neoptera, Bartini, and Volocopter.
Speakers booked to date include representatives of leading international regulators and government agencies—Jay Merkle, FAA’s executive director of the office of unmanned aircraft systems; Bob Pearce, NASA’s deputy associate administrator; Ito Takanori, deputy director of the manufacturing industries bureau with Japan’s Ministry of Trade and Industry; and Tim Johnson, policy director at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, among others.
The conference also will hear from François Sillion, director of Uber’s advanced technologies research center in Paris, who will provide an update on the company’s ambitious plans for flight operations in large cities.
“This program delivers on our ambition to create a pivotal event that serves global industry, governments, and regulators with a meaningful opportunity to explore the future for air transport,” said Amanda Stainer, Farnborough International’s chief commercial and partnerships officer. “We’ve developed a program with focus on the right areas—innovation, operations, and investment—and I am very proud of the range and caliber of world-class speakers that are taking part in this summit.”
