The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has prepared guidelines for the early commercialization of urban air mobility (UAM).

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it prepared the 'UAM Certification Standards Guidelines' to realize UAM and ensure safety, and held a briefing session for domestic officials in Seoul on Thursday, December 21.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport established a consultative body comprised of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and external experts in the fields of aviation, electric propulsion, etc. in February, and prepared this guide after nine months of discussions.

The guide was written based on the 'Aircraft Technology Standards' (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport notice), which includes certification standards for airplanes, helicopters, engines, propellers, etc., and includes certification standards and related procedures for 10 fields (151 items) required for design, production, and safety certification of UAM airframes.

The 10 areas of criteria for UAM certification are: general, flight, structure, design and configuration, powertrain, equipment, flight crew interface, electric engine, propeller, and sustained airworthiness.

It also includes standards for vertical take-off and landing and electric propulsion specific to UAM.

Kyung-soo Yoo, Director General of Aviation Safety Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, “We will provide this guide to manufacturers who are developing new UAM aircraft and seeking certification or preparing for them so that they can prepare in advance.“We plan to supplement it and use it practically for UAM certification,” he said.

“In addition, we plan to actively participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) UAM research group to contribute to the establishment of international standards, and work closely with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to lead the UAM field,” he emphasized.