The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on urban air mobility to support the development, deployment and safe operation of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft.
The agreement was signed by Han Kok Juan, Director-General of CAAS and Luc Tytgat, Strategy and Safety Management Director, EASA on 18 October 2022, on the sidelines of the inaugural European Union–Asia Symposium on Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Urban Air Mobility.
Under the MOU, CAAS and EASA will collaborate in the following three areas:
- Development of Regulatory Standards: Development of regulatory safety standards and related requirements for the certification and operation of VTOL aircraft, including the competencies of personnel involved in the operation of such aircraft, the certification requirements for operations in hot and humid environments and the requirements for personnel training organisations.
- Outreach: Strategies for outreach to relevant stakeholders on urban air mobility including educational outreach to the public and the industry and analysis on public attitudes towards urban air mobility and VTOL as a mode of transport in an urban environment.
- Conferences and Other Activities: Joint organisation of conferences, workshops, talks and other activities on urban air mobility.
Han from the CAAS said: “In the last few years, we have seen quantum leaps in UAS and UAM development. The potential benefits are tremendous. Realising them will require concomitant development in regulation and regulators need to keep pace with technology and business developments to assure safety and security and build public confidence and acceptance. As the technology is novel, we cannot do this alone but need to work together to share knowledge and pool regulatory resources. The CAAS-EASA MOU is a pathfinder to catalyse such partnerships.”
EASA’s Luc said: “The CAAS-EASA MOU signed today provides us with a platform from which we can continue to develop our valued partnership and safely integrate electric air taxis into the aviation system. We know that traditionally regulators lag behind industry developments and innovations. Both this MOU and the wider symposium will contribute to regulators getting ahead of the technology curve in support of our future safety oversight responsibilities.”
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