Community Air Mobility Initiative (CAMI) Launches

With an eye toward acceptance and the safe integration of a new class of aircraft – VTOLs and eVTOLS – into urban communities worldwide, a group of 13 organizations and enterprises have formed the Community Air Mobility Initiative (CAMI).

The nonprofit organization includes aviation industry stalwarts such as Bell, Black & Veatch, and Karem Aircraft, startups such as Joby Aviation and Jump Aero, government leaders like the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, and associations such as the Vertical Flight Society and the Society of Aeronautical Engineers (SAE). These organizations have pledged to work together to educate communities about how flying cars and unmanned drones can benefit communities while facilitating their safe integration into daily life.

Co-executive directors Yolanka Wulff, JD, and Anna Dietrich, co-founder of Terrafugia, introduced the organization, which is working to help remediate traffic congestion, urban sprawl, environmental impacts, and the noise currently associated with aircraft.

CAMI also seeks to help resolve issues which may arise from competing jurisdictions, such as the FAA and state and local regulators.

The organization seeks to address infrastructure challenges posed by the distribution and management of vertiports, existing transit systems, and public and private resources.

Safety (a priority), transportation demand management pertaining to commuter and cargo delivery, challenges everyone from urban planners to government officials, insurance companies, and the public at large. Added to that are the challenges of convincing the public of the value urban air mobility can bring communities.

Through education and advocacy, CAMI hopes to expedite and smooth the way for integrating a third dimension into daily transportation.