White House Hosts Summit on Advanced Air Mobility

The White House on Wednesday held a summit on advanced air mobility, including drones and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

The summit, hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), included NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Federal Aviation Administration acting chief Billy Nolen and Joby Aviation (JOBY.N) CEO JoeBen Bevirt.

The summit addressed how advanced air mobility (AAM) can help achieve goals for U.S. domestic policy, national security, climate and job creation, the White House said. It also looked at the “future of aviation in America and the regulatory strategy towards responsible and equitable adoption of these technologies,” and at challenges of integrating drones and eVTOLs into the national airspace.

Other speakers included Gary Batton, chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Alondra Nelson, the acting director of OSTP, and Deputy White House Homeland Security Adviser Josh Geltzer.

Along with members of the OSTP and industry leaders, several aerospace non-profits including AIAA and AIA, shared their thoughts on the summit.

“On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we applaud the Biden Administration for holding the White House Advanced Air Mobility Summit (#WHAAMSummit) today. We were pleased to be part of this important event, joining other key stakeholders from the advanced air mobility (AAM) community.”

Why it matters: Having aerial mobility included in the conversation of high priority topics worthy of a summit at the White House shows the grasp eVTOL is gaining on. Putting the public and private sector together in the emerging stages of aerial mobility will prove to accelerate development of regulatory framework and technology regarding eVTOL aircraft.