Urban Air Mobility into Helsinki Airport : case study Finavia
Kinnari, Ilkka (2024)
2024
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024052817222
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024052817222
Tiivistelmä
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an innovative air transportation system that uses electric and autonomous aerial vehicles to transport people and cargo within urban environments. Research on UAM is crucial because it has potential to reduce congestion, pollution, and transform cityscapes by shifting some transportation from roads to the airspace above.
The aim of this thesis is to research and develop a master plan for integrating urban air mobility into the airport environment for the commissioner organization. The specific research question being: How to integrate urban air mobility to Helsinki Airport? The commissioner of this research is Finavia, the author's employer, which manages 20 airports in Finland. This thesis’ outcomes focus on Helsinki Airport and its suitability for new air mobility operations to start in the future. The aim of the thesis is to demonstrate a functional and concrete master plan considering the aviation ecosystem in the airport environment.
The theoretical framework delves into seamless travelling concepts and sustainability aspects in aviation as well as urban air mobility developments and the introduction of the commissioner, and its operational models and values.
The research methodology involves conducting qualitative themed interviews with eight experts in the field or a related industry to address the research question. As a content analysis method, theme analysis has been used through the main points that appeared in the interviews.
The findings of the research reveal that UAM has the potential to enhance the accessibility, sustainability, and attractiveness of Helsinki Airport and Finland. However, there are also various challenges and factors that need to be considered, such as the integration of UAM into the airport infrastructure, operations, and airspace, the regulatory framework, the customer experience, and the stakeholder collaboration.
This research and its findings serve as a crucial initial step for Finavia. Once the master plan is reviewed, developed, and successfully implemented, this research will have provided valuable insights and perspectives alongside the practicalities. It has allowed the author to actively contribute to the planning process and potentially become more involved in the integration project.
The research findings are beneficial not only to Finavia but also to other stakeholders in the aviation industry who are facing similar challenges and making their master planning for UAM to start their operations in the future.
The aim of this thesis is to research and develop a master plan for integrating urban air mobility into the airport environment for the commissioner organization. The specific research question being: How to integrate urban air mobility to Helsinki Airport? The commissioner of this research is Finavia, the author's employer, which manages 20 airports in Finland. This thesis’ outcomes focus on Helsinki Airport and its suitability for new air mobility operations to start in the future. The aim of the thesis is to demonstrate a functional and concrete master plan considering the aviation ecosystem in the airport environment.
The theoretical framework delves into seamless travelling concepts and sustainability aspects in aviation as well as urban air mobility developments and the introduction of the commissioner, and its operational models and values.
The research methodology involves conducting qualitative themed interviews with eight experts in the field or a related industry to address the research question. As a content analysis method, theme analysis has been used through the main points that appeared in the interviews.
The findings of the research reveal that UAM has the potential to enhance the accessibility, sustainability, and attractiveness of Helsinki Airport and Finland. However, there are also various challenges and factors that need to be considered, such as the integration of UAM into the airport infrastructure, operations, and airspace, the regulatory framework, the customer experience, and the stakeholder collaboration.
This research and its findings serve as a crucial initial step for Finavia. Once the master plan is reviewed, developed, and successfully implemented, this research will have provided valuable insights and perspectives alongside the practicalities. It has allowed the author to actively contribute to the planning process and potentially become more involved in the integration project.
The research findings are beneficial not only to Finavia but also to other stakeholders in the aviation industry who are facing similar challenges and making their master planning for UAM to start their operations in the future.