Amsterdam Drone Week: things we learned

The Amsterdam Drone Week, the most notable, yearly event for municipalities working on Urban Air Mobility (UAM) took place between 17–19 April. The CITYAM partners were there both for the event and to have a consortium meeting beforehand.

The Amsterdam Drone Week connects the UAM industry, local and regional authorities and regulators. During the three days, there were many insightful panel discussions and dozens of showcases of innovative air mobility solutions on the expo floor. The CITYAM project partners had the chance to participate in this wonderful event and talk – on stage and informally – about the progress of the project. The conference was full of reconnecting with familiar faces and getting to know new people and organisations in the UAM scene. 

At the event, the CITYAM project had a strong presence: partners Hamburg Aviation and Port of Hamburg represented the project at the Hamburg booth and also showcased their progress in various sessions. They spoke among others about their step-by-step approach to a UAM strategy and about their active participation in the European Urban Air Mobility Cities Initiative (UIC2).

Also lead partner Forum Virium Helsinki and Associated Partner City of Helsinki represented the project on stage: in two panel sessions titled “The role of Innovative Aerial Services in Shaping Future Cityscapes – Strategies and Progress” and “Urban Air Mobility: Pioneering a Sustainable and Inclusive Future in Cities”, as well as in a closed discussion meeting for cities by the Polis network. As a result, the partners had lively discussions and good insights.

Project Coordinator Renske Martijnse-Hartikka from Forum Virium Helsinki: “Overall, we could really see that public acceptance is a very high priority for all stakeholders. It was mentioned time and again in various sessions, which is perfect since it validates the work CITYAM is currently doing!” 

“What I also found interesting was that Hamburg as well as other cities reiterated that if they want to impact air mobility on their territories, they do not currently have the right instruments to balance the needs of industry and citizens. This needs further attention and development. CITYAM’s landing site planning tool and strategy development work will help to that end too. I’m proud of the contribution that our project is making, now and in the next one and a half years!”

We look forward to sharing our further output and results with the Amsterdam Drone Week community also next year!

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