Deployment Pathways Advanced Air Mobility 2025

Advanced Air Mobility initiatives under the GACA roadmap FIGURE 1 GACAInitiatives led by GACA ImpactVision 2030 targets alignment – Enhances personal and logistical connectivity through new transport modes – Improves emergency response – Boosts mobility equity – Supports environmental goals – Promotes foreign direct investment – Builds domestic industry – Employs giga-projects for economic growth – Demonstrates leadership in regulatory innovation – Positions Saudi Arabia as regional AAM hub – Builds institutional credibility A vibrant society – Quality of life – Connectivity – Sustainability A thriving economy – Non-oil GDP – Foreign direct investment – Localization An ambitious nation – Governance – Global position – Institutional modernityDemonstrated pilots – Passenger eVTOL for hard-to-reach or underserved areas – Medical transport trials during Hajj Public engagements – Public accessibility studies and pilot engagement to build trust Strategic partnerships – Vertiport and UAV production partnerships Localization initiative – Domestic manufacturing capacity and talent development programmes Policy and regulation – GACA’s phased regulatory roadmap Global diplomacy – International memorandums of understanding with FAA, EASA, Singapore and others for standard-setting and regulatory alignment – Structured trade missions cultivating foreign partnerships and regulatory diplomacy Sources: Federal Aviation Administration,11 Vision 2030 (Government of Saudi Arabia),12,13,14,15 General Authority of Civil Aviation16 Geographical and institutional advantages supporting Vision 2030-aligned developments While Figure 1 highlights how Saudi Arabia’s AAM initiatives directly align with Vision 2030 pillars, these efforts are supported by a set of structural enablers, which facilitate conditions for moving from vision to operational readiness. Together, they make it possible to translate strategic initiatives into tangible, investable deployment efforts. The three main structural enablers for Saudi Arabia are as follows: 1. Giga-projects as testbeds Saudi Arabia’s flagship developments – including, for example, NEOM and the Red Sea Project – are purpose-built, next-generation cities designed with advanced mobility in mind. These projects offer a clean slate for integrating AAM from the ground up. Unlike dense urban environments that must retrofit new infrastructure, these giga-projects can embed vertiports, drone corridors and other required infrastructure directly in their master plans. This reduces the friction of implementation and creates opportunities to test and integrate AAM solutions in real-world environments. Moreover, because these sites currently have minimal residential populations, multiple trials can be conducted with very low risk. 2. Low-density airspace Saudi Arabia possesses vast underused airspace, particularly around its giga-project zones and industrial clusters such as Rabigh, King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and Jazan, to name a few. These are emerging economic and logistical clusters with real potential operational demand. These environments are especially valuable for enabling beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations (see Box 1). This geographical advantage allows for the designation of expansive testing corridors without Deployment Pathways for Advanced Air Mobility: Lessons from Early Implementation in Saudi Arabia 6