Seoul unveils plan to complete flying taxi network by 2035

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Monday unveiled the city’s plans to demonstrate these advanced vehicles in the first half of 2025, with the goal of completing a network as early as 2035.

A UAM vehicle conducts a test flight over Seoul in November 2020. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles could be seen flying over Seoul as early as next year.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Monday unveiled the city’s plans to demonstrate these advanced vehicles in the first half of 2025, with the goal of completing a network as early as 2035.

“The sky will serve as a crucial new resource for transportation, enhancing convenience for citizens,” Oh said during a conference on future technologies, including UAM, drones and AI, held at City Hall in central Seoul.

The mayor also noted the rapidly growing UAM industry, with the global market projected to soar from 1 trillion won ($717 million) in 2020 to 500 trillion won by 2040, according to Morgan Stanley's 2021 analysis.

In presenting Seoul’s road map, Oh highlighted the potential of UAM as an alternative transportation solution for the densely populated city, noting that it could enhance tourism options and bolster emergency medical infrastructure.

In Seoul, the number of UAM users is projected to soar from 700,000 in 2030 to 4.7 million by 2040, according to KPMG data.

A transportation transfer facility, including UAM, is featured at Gimpo International Airport in a rendered image provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

“The initial UAM routes will be focused along the Han River, gradually expanding to cover broader areas,” Oh added.

To support the rollout, the city plans to build major facilities like vertiports at four locations: Yeouido and Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul, and Suseo and Jamsil in southern Seoul, by 2030. Vertiports are designated areas where UAM vehicles can take off and land vertically.

At vertiports, UAM services will integrate with other transportation options, such as buses and subways, allowing for seamless transfers, the mayor said.

Test flights for Seoul’s UAM vehicles will start in the first half of next year along two routes: one from Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi, to Gimpo International Airport and then to Yeouido Hangang Park, and another between Jamsil and Suseo Station.

Initially, pilot operations will focus on routes along the Han River from Gimpo International Airport to Suseo.

By 2035, the city aims to operate UAM services around the Han River and expand coverage to the greater Seoul area, including Gyeonggi and Incheon.

The full network is expected to be completed after 2035, additionally linking high-demand transport areas such as Gangnam in southern Seoul and Mapo in western Seoul.

Once the network is in place, travel from Pangyo in Gyeonggi to Gwanghwamun Station in central Seoul — about 25 kilometers (15 miles) — will take only 15 minutes by UAM.

The reduced travel time is expected to generate economic benefits worth 2.2 trillion won, according to the city government.

The city government said it would collaborate with the private sector, the central government and academic institutions to develop the transportation network.

The city’s plans align with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s road map for introducing UAM next year.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]