Australians are closer to taking rides in pilot-free flying taxis after a Boeing-owned aerospace company signed a deal with an air safety regulator.
Wisk Aero and Airservices Australia announced their agreement on Wednesday, revealing the organisations would swap information and hold simulations to create rules for the next-generation aircraft.
Advanced air mobility, as the trend is known, is expected to deliver more than 700,000 trips a year by air taxis in 2043, with specialised planes from a range of firms arriving as early as 2026.
The agreement comes as Wisk Aero pushes to have autonomous air taxis operating in Australia in time for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.
Strict safety regulations and airspace integration systems would be needed to allow those flights, Wisk Aero Australia and Pacific operations vice-president Catherine MacGowan said, and its new partnership would help to create them.
"Australia has a history of innovation and a vision for the future that includes advanced air mobility," she said.
"We're grateful to ... contribute to an air traffic system that meets the needs of (advanced air mobility) services so we can bring safe, efficient air travel to communities in this region."
Wisk Aero, owned by Boeing, has created six generations of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) and has tested self-flying aircraft in the US.
The aircraft are expected to transport commuters in urban and regional areas in short flights, from a city to an airport or to a major regional town, for example.
A report commissioned by Airservices Australia found the number of air taxi rides was expected to reach 750,000 a year by 2043.
Airservices Australia chief executive Rob Sharp said the nation needed a flight information management system to allow that air traffic and the deal would help both organisations gain insights into the rules required.
"It will help both organisations better understand industry needs and challenges," he said.
"Airservices will share its air navigation technical engineering and air traffic management expertise to support design, development and validation of air taxi operations concepts in Australia."
Under the non-exclusive agreement, Airservices Australia would hold a series of workshops and air traffic simulations to develop safety standards, Mr Sharp said.
Wisk Aero has also signed deals with Skyports Infrastructure to identify landing spaces for the aircraft and the South East Queensland Council of Mayors to boost opportunities for air taxis.
The company will face strong competition for leadership of advanced air mobility in Australia.
US firm Joby Aviation applied to have its electric air taxis certified by the Civil Aviation and Safety Authority earlier in 2024, while Eve Urban Air Mobility has signed deals with tourism firms in Victoria and Queensland with a planned launch of 2026.
Australian firm AMSL Aero is also developing a remotely piloted version of its hydrogen-powered VTOL aircraft, though the company is designing the aircraft to fight bushfires.
