Saudi Gazette Report

MONTREAL — General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) President Abdulaziz Al-Duailej confirmed that the Saudi civil aviation sector is witnessing an unprecedented transformation in terms of its speed and size, thanks to the efforts of the national aviation sector to achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 in creating a diversified economy.

He made the remarks while addressing the first International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Forum on Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), which is being held in Montreal, Canada, from September 9 to 12. Al-Duailej is heading the Saudi delegation to the conference. President of the International Civil Aviation Organization Salvatore Sciacchitano and senior civil aviation officials from member states of the ICAO and leaders of the aviation sector in the world are attending the conference.

Al-Duailej stated that Saudi Arabia’s participation represents its pioneering role in aviation in particular and international civil aviation in general, noting that the authority has launched an advanced air mobility road map. This map was an announcement of comprehensive change based on seven main axes: adopting technical solutions, developing infrastructure, achieving comprehensive governance, building trust, attracting investments, setting regulations and systems, and empowering human capital.

The authority also held the third edition of Future of Aviation Conference on 20-22 May 2024.

This edition witnessed exceptional successes, including the participation of seven advanced air transport aircraft in the exhibition accompanying the conference; it is the largest in terms of the number of participation of aircraft of this type in the world.

He pointed out that the air taxi experiment conducted by GACA during the Hajj season last June is an example of the role that advanced air mobility can play in various aspects of life.

Al-Duailej revealed future plans to establish a capabilities center by 2028, which will focus on training local talents and attracting the most prominent minds and competencies from all over the world. He noted that travelers will then not have to go to the airport in their cars or via train station, but will call the flying taxi via their smartphones, just as we do now with car-hailing services.

Al-Duailej explained that advanced air mobility has high potential in various aspects of daily life, such as transportation, tourism, healthcare and even agriculture.

"In 2023, the value of global market for advanced air mobility was approximately $9.7 billion, and it will grow to reach approximately $50 billion by 2032. This is a huge leap forward, showing the number of opportunities that lie ahead in this market, noting that there are more than 200 cities and regions in 57 countries around the world, working on their own plans to enable advanced air mobility at the present time," he added.

As part of the forum’s agenda, ICAO awarded the Advanced Air Mobility Global Academic Paper Competition to students at KAUST, confirming Saudi Arabia’s capabilities in the field of advanced air mobility and the success of its plans to integrate and enable it to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2060, enhancing Saudi Arabia’s commitment to advanced research, and complementing its investments in electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

The award came after KAUST students presented a research paper on the efficiency of non-terrestrial networks in providing communication coverage for advanced air transport vehicles and comparing it with the efficiency of traditional mobile phone towers. These steps reflect Saudi Arabia’s commitment to integrating advanced technologies into its private transport network, aiming to double annual passenger numbers to more than 300 million by the end of the decade, with tourism a key pillar of its strategy to diversify the economy away from oil.

The ICAO Forum is being held for the first time in Montreal, Canada, with the aim of bringing together global civil aviation leaders, academia, government, and international organizations in the field of advanced air mobility, as well as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), to provide a platform for exchanging discussions and experiences and examining best practices, lessons learned, and related challenges.