ITA Airways and Airbus team up to develop urban air mobility

ITA Airways (AZ, Rome Fiumicino) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus to develop urban air mobility solutions in Italy based on the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) CityAirbus NextGen platform.

In an announcement short on any specifics, the two companies said they would “explore the creation of tailored UAM solutions”. They pledged to enlist more local stakeholders in the cooperation and to identify “pilot cases” for the trials, which will serve not only to test the technology but also to “secure public acceptance”.

CityAirbus NextGen is an all-electric VTOL which, once certified, will be able to carry up to four persons (including the pilot). The aircraft equipped with fixed wings and eight propellers will travel at a speed of up to 120 km/h for up to 80 kilometres. Airbus said it would be perfectly suited “for a variety of missions”, not limited to urban transport.

CityAirbus NextGen was revealed in September 2021 and was initially developed by Airbus Helicopters before Airbus Urban Mobility was spun off as a new subsidiary in late 2021. The vehicle’s first flight is tentatively scheduled for 2023.