Korean Air expands UAM air links to islands, successfully completes demonstration in Incheon

[Financial News] Korean Air has successfully completed a UAM demonstration flight in Incheon's island areas.
Korean Air said on the 21st that it had successfully completed a UAM demonstration flight on the 20th in Incheon's island areas as a member of the K-UAM One Team, formed with Incheon International Airport Corporation, KT, Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Engineering & Construction.
This was Korea's first local-government-linked UAM demonstration, carried out through cooperation among the government, local governments and private companies, from identifying public services and designing flight routes to on-site flight verification. It was led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and Incheon City, with the Aerospace Industry-Academia Convergence Institute and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute participating.
The demonstration flight was conducted using a surrogate aircraft along a route from Geojampo on Yeongjong Island, Incheon, via Deokjeokdo to Wangsan Marina. Using its self-developed UAM integrated control system, ACROSS, Korean Air managed flight operations and traffic, leading the consortium's integrated operations.
The demonstration is considered significant because it applied technologies and operational procedures gained through the government's Korean Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) Grand Challenge (GC) to real-world operating conditions in island areas. It confirmed the potential to extend the use of UAM technology, which has so far focused on urban areas, to island transportation and public services. Korean Air has built up expertise in integrated UAM operations through two previous GC demonstrations. Phase 1 of the GC, held in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, in April 2024, verified interoperability among UAM aircraft, operating systems and 5G aviation communications networks. In the Phase 2 demonstration, held last October along the Cheongna–Gyeyang corridor in Incheon, the company carried out handovers of control authority and responses to abnormal situations, among other tasks, to support operations by multiple operators.
Building on this demonstration experience, Korean Air is upgrading ACROSS's capabilities. ACROSS is an integrated control solution that enables multiple UAM aircraft to operate safely and efficiently over urban areas. This year, ACROSS was selected as the UAM integrated control system for Incheon City's urban air mobility system development project, and a separate contract was signed. Phase 1 is scheduled to be completed this December.
Korean Air plans to work with the companies participating in the K-UAM One Team to develop technology and establish an operational foundation for the commercialization of UAM in Korea. Through MOLIT research and development projects, it also plans to continue enhancing ACROSS's system automation and flight operations control and traffic management capabilities. 
[email protected] Jeong Won-il Reporter