Frequently Asked Questions

Large remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS, also known as drones) have already begun commercial operations across Canada. AAM expands on developments with RPAS with consideration for larger vehicles in more complex airspaces. AAM is currently in its early phases of understanding it’s feasibility, engineering safe aircraft and defining air and ground regulations and policy. Demonstration flights for AAM vehicles have begun in some major cities, though in the next 2-5 years AAM will see aircraft being certified, strong business and service concepts being developed and pilot operations beginning. By 2028, CAAM expects to see network expansion of commercial cargo & passenger operations throughout the country with full scale operations maturing based on each cities needs shortly after. For more information, read up on Deloitte’s AAM whitepaper.

AAM vehicles come in all shapes and sizes! Some take off vertically, some with more traditional fixed wings, and some even tilt their propellers from vertical to horizontal mid flight! There are many companies building these aircraft currently and on the path to becoming certified for commercial flight, each is at a different stage and it can be difficult to keep track of. For an overview of the aircraft which are closest to commercial production, we recommend taking a look at the AAM reality index.

Great question! Initially, the operations of advanced air mobility are scheduled to operate with existing air traffic management systems currently provided by NAV Canada and their expert air traffic controllers. NAV Canada is working hard to explore how to manage RPAS (Drones) currently and working with support from CAAM in identifying the next evolution of air traffic management which is defined as RTM (Remote Traffic Management). For more information, please visit NAV Canada.

Canadian Advanced Air Mobility Consortium (CAAM) is the Federal Not-For-Profit catalysing the new Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry in Canada. CAAM is currently creating a national AAM strategy for Canada while implementing regional revenue-generating use cases with our various partners.

1055 West Georgia Street, 1500 Royal Centre
Vancouver, BC, V6E 4N7

CAAM operates across Canada with current operations in Vancouver, BC and Toronto, Ontario.

Sign up here: https://canadianaam.com/join-us/.

CAAM has partnered with over 50 organizations from industry, academia and all three levels of government to launch projects aimed at getting AAM off the ground with strict consideration for Environmental, Social and Economic impacts. View our member list here - https://canadianaam.com/members/.

Contact our media team at [email protected].

We hear from people that they’re mostly concerned about safety, noise, accessibility, and sustainability. CAAM is keenly aware of these aspects of public concern and.

The early applications of advanced air mobility include life saving medical transport such as medevac, blood and organ deliveries, as well as standard package and cargo deliveries, air metro transit routes, on demand “air taxi” operations and airport shuttle services. As the technology matures and is deployed, new operational styles and applications will likely emerge. Based on the above, public communities can expect to see multiple benefits from responsibly-integrated AAM:

• Reduced need for vehicle traffic within urban core
• Reduced emergency response times
• Increased range of access to the urban core
• Additional transportation options
• Workforce development and economic opportunities
• Stronger connection of rural areas to urban opportunities
• Additional disaster response capabilities
• Increased decarbonization of transportation for lower in situ emissions
• Elimination of transportation deserts - an area with limited transportation supply

Transport Canada will be the sole regulator responsible for the requirements and regulations within the advanced air mobility industry in Canada. Transport Canada has built an RPAS (drone) regulation strategy to 2025 (see here) which CAAM is working with to expand to consider AAM vehicles.

You’ve probably heard of drones before - small, flying machines that you might have seen being used by a photographer to capture a great photo or video. Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems(Known as “RPAS”) is increasingly being used as the technical term for “Drone” as these flying machines become more capable of carrying large payloads with highly technical digital tools onboard; from infrared cameras to the ability to fly themselves, these machines are becoming highly capable. Advanced Air Mobility (“AAM”) is quickly becoming the catchall for flying vehicles that use zero emissions and including the RPAS industry. As RPAS become bigger and more capable, they end up blurring the lines between what carries a person and what carries cargo. AAM has, in the past, been divided up into Regional Air Mobility(“RAM”) and Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”). All of these terms, as well as RAM and UAM, seem to be being used under the catchall of AAM, though time will tell as this industry develops what terms will be favoured.

Regional Air Mobility refers to AAM vehicles moving people, goods and services between regions, such as between two neighbouring cities, between a town and a remote location, or even between provinces or countries. The first zero emissions AAM vehicles are aiming to have a range of between 10 and 500kms, though future models such as those being designed by Airbus will have similar ranges to current commercial aircraft.

This is a great question currently under focussed discussion in Canada. Currently, airspace is regulated at the federal level. Transport Canada is working actively with municipalities across Canada to define the role of cities in regulating and benefiting from air traffic that expects to be moving frequently within city limits.

We don’t know yet, and we’re concerned that indigenous voices will go unheard in the development of this new technology. We’re listening to aviation leaders such as Iskwew Air to help the AAM industry uplift indigenous people, communities and sovereignty. We encourage those with colonial or immigrant heritage to consider attending our Indigenous Wisdom in AAM event or learning about indigenous worldview and history through the University of Alberta’s Indigenous History course.

Safety seems to be everyone’s #1 priority in the AAM industry, and we agree! Transport Canada, in conjunction with global aviation regulatory leaders such as the FAA in the United States and EASA in Europe are making a global effort to ensure the highest degree of safety for Advanced Air Mobility operations. Global policies will hold Advanced Air Mobility operations to the same safety regulations of commercial airliners such as Air Canada and WestJet. Manufacturers of AAM vehicles are often aiming to surpass current commercial standards, as they also agree that safety is the priority, for everyone's sake. Aviation training organizations such as CAE are creating pilot training programs for Advanced Air Mobility to provide operators with safety training in this emerging industry. The international body governing safety in the skies is ICAO, learn more about their safety standards here.

Most AAM demand predictions today require frequent trips being taken in order to become economically viable, requiring costs to be low enough for enough people to use the service often. AAM will do many things, beginning in areas where higher costs for time savings make sense, such as emergency medevac, blood/organ delivery, and air taxis. These services will benefit everyone, and CAAM is working actively with transportation authorities such as Translink to ensure that this new technology is incorporated into existing environmentally and socially sustainable transport solutions that work for everyone. We are just at the start of a long process that will look at hundreds of issues related to how we can best use this to move people and goods. Read more about AAM equity from the World Economic Forum.

AAM will create system wide savings for specific trips where the time savings is worth a trip through the skies. This cost will vary as it is introduced, though the savings will be most felt in healthcare and other time sensitive trips. As costs are still being determined by manufacturers and infrastructure companies, it is difficult to pinpoint the specific cost structures to date. However, general cost figures are showcasing that advanced air mobility vehicles will be cheaper than conventional helicopters and commercial airliners. For a recent article reviewing various cost structures of UAM, click here.

Through the economic research completed to date, there is a strong business case for the advanced air mobility initiative to be funded primarily via private capital. CAAM also supports the P3 partnerships (Private-Public-Partnerships model), which showcases the collaborative efforts between governments and private companies. For More information on cost studies, please review a recent report from NASA.

Jobs will be created in four major categories with the creation and introduction of advanced mobility technology.

• Increased operator jobs for new urban and regional advanced air mobility airlines connecting areas and economies previously under- or unservered.
• Increased construction and manufacturing jobs for updating and building new ground infrastructure requirements for advanced air mobility operations.
• Increased air traffic management jobs for upskilling existing air traffic controller‘s to that of an unmanned air traffic management system.
• Additional aviation-based jobs from the manufacturing, production, research and development of these new aircraft.
• New education positions as curriculums in both the secondary and post secondary institutions expand to include advanced air mobility.

Our collective success comes from developing multiple projects aligned with a single vision for AAM in Canada. These projects are led by industry with many collaborative organizations from Government, Industry and Academia who are interested in creating a safe, sustainable, equitable and profitable AAM industry in Canada. We’d recommend you check out our projects page, and attend an event, and subscribe to stay informed about the industry before reaching out about leading or partnering on a project. When you’re ready, reach out to us directly (https://canadianaam.com/contact-us/)) if there is a project you’re interested in leading or joining.

AAM vehicles will be quieter than current helicopters and conventional fixed wing aircraft. Aircraft noise is a key determinant defining the success and acceptance of AAM vehicles that will operate in areas of higher population density at low altitudes. eVTOL aircrafts (can) be significantly more quiet than existing aircrafts due to:

• Absence of powertrain noise due to quieter electric motors
• Improved propellor engineering for noise reduction, including the arrangement and number, blade design, tip speed, and avoidance of blade-vortex interaction through independent rotor systems
• eVTOLs utilizes propellers for propulsion which will not generate significant levels of quadrupole noise - unlike the high-speed impulsive noise in helicopters