EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW: KOOKIEJAR
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Have industry players been quick to adapt technology to cater to the changing needs in the market?
Well it depends on which industry. Advanced Air Mobility is picking up but parts of the ecosystem is behind when it comes to adapting to this emerging technology. Infrastructure specifically and establishment of airspace is something that need to pick-up pace in order to meet the need of on-demand aerial services for passenger and cargo traffic.
What technologies are required to seamlessly integrate eVTOLS into our ecosystem?
Vertiports for sure are required but I also believe that we need to ensure a stable communication channel for provision of data and position reports. 5G is promising but we need to look at a combination of communication means in order to ensure safe and efficient operations over our Urban and Rural environments.
In which areas and geographies do you see strongest potential for growth?
Europe has with its new regulations come very far and we see now a movement in all major European countries to establish the missing pieces in the Eco System of Advanced Air Mobility. UTM och U-Space (as it is referred to in Europe) will introduce U-Space Service Providers and Common Information Service Providers that will have an important role to ensure safe and efficient operations. We at Kookiejar are also working on U-Space Collaborative Decision Making as Team Leader for a newly formed Working Group in EUROCAE. These standards will help us define what information can be shared amongst the AAM partners in the EcoSystem. US market is driven by strong financials and especially since a majority of investments in our industry comes from US. FAA have a huge task to ensure that AAM becomes a reality in the pace the investment market requires. Finally I cannot end this question without mentioning UAE that has a clear vision of establishing AAM. Dubai have a clear goal of establishing services and it is for this reason we in Kookiejar established cooperation with Air Chateau here at Dubai South.
What technologies do you predict will impact the aerial mobility industry most in the next five years?
Infrastructure will have a huge impact. The demand is amazing and there are plenty of societal problems infrastructure for AAM can solve. It is a pre-requisite for the success of drone and VTOL manufacturers to get the scale they strive for.
How will the recent investment in Advanced Aerial Mobility impact your operations?
Any investment is important into AAM. For us it means that certification of VTOL’s can come quicker. Unfortunately we also need investment into more than the vehicle itself. Here we need to do a better job explaining why infrastructure can be scaled up into global businesses and not only locally.
What are your expectations from Dubai Airshow 2023?
We hope that after the Dubai Airshow the AAM industry as a whole will get the focus it deserves. We at Kookiejar is happy to contribute with our part together with the other players in our industry.
Lastly, what are Kookiejar's plans in the region?
We are currently building our Vertiport in Dubai South. We plan to expand that into further locations once the first one will be certified. We have multiple partners in our supply chain involved in this initiative and I’m quite excited to see where it leads us.