Community Resources for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) supports a generation of aircraft technologies that provide new levels of safety, efficiency and sustainability while modernizing traditional aviation and airports. Congress defines AAM as a transportation system that transports people and property by air between two points in the United States using aircraft with advanced technologies, including electric aircraft or electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, in controlled and uncontrolled airspace.
As noted in the AAM National Strategy, AAM encompasses a collection of new technologies and business models designed to enable small, low-altitude aircraft operations at increasing scale and decreasing cost. It introduces new aircraft designs, including manned and unmanned aircraft, with novel flight characteristics, control schemes, modes of operation, and propulsion sources that can fly quietly and efficiently. It also includes air traffic management solutions to manage high volumes of aircraft safely, securely, and efficiently at low altitudes. Finally, AAM incorporates new and modified infrastructure that integrates flight networks into the hearts of communities. Taken together, this AAM ecosystem creates opportunities for aviation to provide commercially viable local and regional mobility solutions
that benefit all Americans.
State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT) governments, along with industry and regulatory partners drive the industry market demand for AAM. Community planners will play a crucial part in planning and developing the essential infrastructure, policies, transportation options and funding required to support and integrate this transformative mode of transportation on the ground. Several imminent use cases for AAM are active.
The Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will facilitate the safe implementation of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) into our National Airspace System in partnership with communities and industry, but the logistics and local policy requirements that make AAM a fit for any given community or region are put in place by community planners, flight operators, state transportation officials, and other stakeholders. As interest in AAM rises, so will the questions regarding site selection, design, operation, and direct and indirect impacts to communities.
Public Benefits
AAM presents multiple innovative opportunities, both short term and long term. As partnerships between SLTT governments, commercial providers and the FAA expand and become more defined, so will AAM capabilities in the private and public sectors.
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) focuses on short-range, on-demand flights within metropolitan areas, such as air taxi services connecting neighborhoods, business districts, and airports to reduce congestion and travel times. Regional Air Mobility (RAM) extends this concept to longer distances, linking nearby cities and rural communities with efficient, point-to-point service. Together, UAM and RAM aim to expand mobility options, improve connectivity, and create faster, more flexible transportation networks.
Cargo use cases for advanced air mobility center on transporting goods quickly and efficiently, ranging from small package delivery in urban areas to medium-sized freight between regional hubs. These operations can reduce ground traffic, speed up supply chains, and improve access to remote or underserved communities. By enabling rapid, flexible logistics, cargo AAM can support both commercial and public service needs.
Public Safety - Emergency response, disaster relief, and routine tasks for first responders – has been identified as one of the initial uses and one of the primary public benefits of AAM. Future use and benefits will depend on increasing aircraft capabilities, the geographic spread of cities, alternative transportation options, private industry discussions and plans, and local industry composition.
AAM is separated from Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) drones by size, safety certification, and range. Both may be automated or remotely piloted, but the commonality stops there. Advanced Air Mobility encompasses a suite of technological capabilities that include electric, hybrid electric and even hydrogen propulsion. They typically include advanced flight systems and have a maximum takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds designed for carrying people and large loads. Importantly, AAM aircraft will have airworthiness certificates from the FAA that are not typical for smaller drones.
Package Delivery by drones typically involves small aircraft carrying single packages as external loads over small distances. Drones are also not designed for carrying humans or heavy cargo. Congress defines a drone as an aircraft of no more than 1,320 pounds that operates below 18,000 feet.
Roles and Responsibilities
AAM integration will require local officials and communities to know what questions to ask of potential operators, understand the use and implications, know who should be included in the decision making, and are prepared to manage the expectations for all stakeholders.
State and local aviation agencies are responsible for leading AAM conversations with industry and with their own constituents, facilitating connections with key stakeholders, and ensuring AAM ties in with local priorities, benefits, needs, and capacity.
State departments of transportation, local city planners and governments, and aviation officials will need to work together to support the safe integration of this rapidly emerging new industry of air/ground transportation.
Key Stakeholders include but are not limited to:
- State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT) governments
- Local communities
- Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
- AAM Aircraft operators
- Vertiport developers
- Local aviation agencies and regional and regulatory agencies
- Utility companies
Considerations for AAM Preparation and Planning
PAUSE to PLAN: Community Planning and Engagement Recommendations
Infrastructure and Operations Considerations
Whether the project is in an information-gathering phase, planning, or full scale and ready for implementation, community stakeholders should assess the key knowledge areas as a precursor to AAM operations deployment.
- Needs, benefits and value
- Location, condition and capacity
- Technical readiness, equipment and aircraft
The following recommendations and considerations are to help SLTT governments and communities prepare for AAM operations without direct Federal involvement in local decisions. Robust engagement by the project proponent can help craft AAM solutions that are responsive to local concerns and tailored to local needs.
FAA Engagement and Support
The FAA will engage with industry stakeholders, including aircraft manufacturers, operators, airports, and vertiport companies when they have developed vision and implementation plans. We encourage state, local, territory and tribal communities to be informed about AAM technology and how these new operations will affect them.
Integration Need-to-Know for Community Stakeholders
Airport AAM Contacts
For general questions about vertiports and vertiports design standards/guidance, please send your questions to vertiports@faa.gov.
For questions specific to airport/vertiport sites, please reach out to the appropriate Regional Airport
AAM Contact:
- Alaskan
- Central (IA, KS, MO, NE)
- Eastern (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WV)
- Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, MN, ND, OH, SD, WI)
- New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
- Northwest Mountain (CO, ID, MT, OR, UT, WA, WY)
- Southern (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, PR, SC, TN, VI)
- Southwest (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX)
- Western-Pacific (AZ, CA, HI, NV, GU, AS, MH)
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requires Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operators to obtain economic authority as air carriers separate from FAA safety certification. This licensing is administered by the Department of Transportation and the requirements for the process can be found here at Air Carrier Fitness on DOT.gov.
It will be the responsibility of the AAM operator to address concerns from the public and community leaders for their specific operations, including topics such as noise, overflights, roadway traffic, etc. Local governments will have the responsibility for zoning protection, land use compatibility planning, and community engagement.
Our job is to ensure this new generation of aircraft maintains the high level of safety that defines commercial aviation today. This effort will involve the following responsibilities:
- Certifying the designs of these aircraft with the AAM manufacturers
- Finalizing the operating framework, such as pilot qualifications and training
- Integrating these new operations into the existing aviation system, which involves not just the airspace, but also vertiport design
The FAA does not select or designate locations for AAM operations. Those decisions are made by State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial government (SLTT) governments, city aviation agencies and stakeholders, AAM operators, and landowners. However, once a location is proposed, the FAA is responsible for conducting the required environmental reviews, noise analyses, and airspace and obstruction evaluations to ensure the site and operations meet federal safety and regulatory standards.
The eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) accelerates the safe deployment of Advanced Air Mobility aircraft. The program will form public-private partnerships with SLTT entities and private companies to develop new frameworks and regulations for enabling safe AAM operations. Additionally, the FAA will clarify operating procedures through rules and guidance that provide pilots, operators, and air traffic controllers with the framework necessary to safely integrate Advanced Air Mobility into the National Airspace System.
Safety
The safety of AAM is a shared responsibility between AAM operators and manufacturers, SLTT governments, aviation authorities, vertiport developers, pilots, the Department of Transportation and the FAA. Advanced Air Mobility aircraft will only enter the NAS once the FAA confirms they are safe to transport passengers or fly over communities, and operators have been certified for safe conduct. Read more about FAA Airworthiness Certification
Noise & Annoyance
Many AAM aircraft are quieter than traditional aviation on a one-to-one basis, but much of the current available information on noise is anecdotal and does not account for the intentions of many AAM operators to conduct high-tempo flights. Non-proprietary noise data from AAM aircraft/ operations will be gathered systematically and made available to the public, allowing communities to make informed, fact-based decisions about how to incorporate AAM operations. NASA and the FAA have ongoing research on noise from AAM operations: how it is perceived by the public; how it propagates in the community; and how it can be mitigated. This work can be leveraged to assist operators, SLTT governments, and the public plan for deployment.
Existing FAA noise regulations include noise standards for tiltrotors which are a subset of the powered-lift category, and are generally far larger than the aircraft expected to be used for AAM. FAA will examine each aircraft model for which an applicant is seeking noise certification and determine whether existing requirements are appropriate or if new rules for that particular aircraft need to be developed. In the future, FAA will incorporate a dedicated noise standard for all variations of Advanced Aircraft Mobility into the FAA's regulations.
While AAM designs need to meet noise requirements through the aircraft certification process, AAM operators need to address noise impacts to communities through NEPA studies, and communities need to be proactive in engaging their citizens on noise expectations, noise tolerances and impacts/benefits that AAM can bring the community to ensure successful implementation of this next wave in aviation modernization.