Skyports Infrastructure and Korean Air have formed a partnership to explore the development of a holistic technology platform designed to support safe and efficient real-world commercial electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) services.
The collaboration, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at Drone Show Korea 2026, focuses on the technical alignment and interoperability of two primary systems. Skyports will utilize its Vertiport Automation System (VAS) to manage core ground operations, while Korean Air will integrate its Air Control & Routing Orchestrated Skyway System (ACROSS) to provide flight operations and air traffic management expertise.
The development phase will include testing, validation, joint demonstrations, and pilot programs. These initiatives are intended to refine vertiport operations and air traffic integration, with a long-term goal of creating scalable solutions for the global Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry.
The partnership leverages the distinct strengths of both organizations. As a leading global airline and aerospace technology developer, Korean Air brings established experience in flight operation control. Skyports Infrastructure contributes specialized knowledge in vertiport technology and infrastructure management. Skyports is currently developing vertiport networks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with commercial operations in Dubai expected before the end of 2026. The company also operates the Downtown Skyport in New York City and is developing South Korea’s first vertiport network on Jeju Island, scheduled for 2028.
Ankit Dass, Chief Technology Officer, Skyports, commented, “Whilst eVTOL aircraft development is progressing at a good pace, there are still various unknowns around how they would operate and navigate effectively in the real world environment. This partnership with Korean Air reflects our shared vision to create the technologies and operational frameworks needed to bring Advanced Air Mobility to life. With Skyports having a vertiport network under development in Dubai, where the world’s first full-scale commercial eVTOL service is planned, alongside developing Korea’s first AAM network in Jeju Island, we have highly relevant future contexts for potential applications of such technologies.”
Kwang-Oh Moon, Head of Future Technology Development Center, Korean Air, added, “ACROSS aims to provide seamless services in both flight operation control and low-altitude air traffic management once AAM aircraft are commercialised. From a systems perspective, close integration with vertiports, which will assume the role of traditional airports for commercial aviation, is critically important. The synergy between Skyports’s infrastructure and Korea Air’s ACROSS will set the global standard for AAM operations.”
