Korean Air (003490) said it has completed an urban air mobility (UAM) demonstration flight using an integrated air traffic control system it developed in-house.
The K-UAM One Team consortium, which Korean Air formed with Incheon International Airport Corporation, KT, Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Engineering & Construction, successfully finished the UAM demonstration flight over islands off Incheon on the 20th, the airline said on the 21st.
Korean Air said the trial carries added significance as the country's first UAM demonstration conducted in partnership with a local government, with the central government, municipal authorities and private companies working together on everything from identifying public-service uses to designing flight routes and verifying operations in the field.
The demonstration used a surrogate aircraft and covered a route starting at Geojampo on Yeongjongdo Island in Incheon, passing Deokjeokdo Island and ending at Wangsan Marina. The flight applied technologies and operating procedures already verified in the government's UAM demonstration program to an island operating environment, confirming the potential to expand the scope and geographic range of UAM operations.
The project was overseen by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Incheon, with participation from the Korea Institute of Aerospace Industry-Academia Convergence and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. Korean Air handled flight control and traffic management using ACROSS, its in-house integrated UAM control system, and led the consortium's combined operations.
ACROSS is an integrated control solution designed to help multiple UAM aircraft fly safely and efficiently over urban areas. It was selected this year as the integrated control system for Incheon's UAM infrastructure project under a separate contract, and the first phase of the rollout is scheduled for completion in December.
Korean Air has built up integrated UAM operating technology and experience through a series of demonstration projects. In the first phase, conducted in Goheung, Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla Province), in April 2024, the company verified interoperability among UAM aircraft, operating systems and a 5G aviation communications network. In the second phase last October, on a route between Cheongna and Gyeyang in Incheon, it successfully carried out handovers of control authority between operators to support flights by multiple carriers, as well as responses to abnormal situations.
Korean Air said it plans to continue working closely with the other K-UAM One Team members on technology development and operational groundwork for commercializing UAM in South Korea.