MOU Signed at Drone Show Korea 2026
Integration of Flight Operations Management and Vertiport Infrastructure
To open up future urban air corridors, a national flag carrier and a global infrastructure specialist have joined forces. By combining aircraft operation technology with airport infrastructure management capabilities, the development of an integrated platform that manages the entire journey from passenger departure to arrival is now moving into full swing.
Korean Air announced on February 26, 2026 that it signed a business agreement with Skyports, a UK-based advanced air mobility (AAM) specialist, to develop an integrated operation platform for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft at Drone Show Korea (DSK) 2026, held at BEXCO in Busan.
The core of this collaboration is to interlink Korean Air's AAM integrated control system "ACROSS" with Skyports' vertiport operation system "VAS." ACROSS is specialized in aircraft operations and traffic flow management, while VAS has strengths in operating vertiports, which are take-off and landing facilities for aircraft. The two companies plan to combine these systems to build a solution that oversees the entire process from the moment passengers arrive at a vertiport and pass through security screening until they disembark at their final destination.
eVTOL aircraft generate more than 100 times less noise than conventional helicopters, making them a core vehicle for future urban air mobility. The two companies plan to conduct joint demonstrations in regions scheduled to become the world's first commercial AAM service areas and thereby secure leadership in the global AAM market. Skyports is already building vertiport networks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and is also working on converting the Manhattan heliport in New York for AAM operations.
Since 2024, Korean Air has demonstrated its technological capabilities in real-time monitoring of low-altitude aircraft flight paths and managing optimal traffic flows through ACROSS, which it developed independently. The company also verified its operational performance through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's K-UAM Grand Challenge demonstration project.
A Korean Air official said, "For the commercialization of AAM, close integration between aircraft operations and vertiports, which function as airports, is essential," adding, "We will secure differentiated air mobility solutions through collaboration with global companies."
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