There are broadly four strategic issues in aviation: safety; security; environmental protection; and sustainability in air transport. These issues will remain for a long time as key considerations in the safe, regular, efficient and economic development of air transport. Within these four broad categories come numerous subjects that require attention of the aviation industry as well as the States. In six chapters, this book engages in detailed discussions on these subjects as they unravelled in events of recent years. The issue of safety is addressed first, following an introduction of the regulatory regime covering the four issues. Within the area of safety, the book covers such areas as safety management systems, safety and aeromedicine, safety and meteorology, the use of airspace, unmanned aircraft systems and safety oversight audits. In the security area, subjects covered include cyber terrorism, the integrity of travel documents, full body scanners, civil unrest and aviation, the suppression of unlawful acts on board aircraft and the financing of terrorism. The chapter on the environment focuses mainly on climate change - particularly on carbon credits, market based measures, the carbon market and emissions trading schemes and their effect on air transport. Finally, the chapter on sustainability discusses in detail market access along with such issues as slot allocation, open skies, the use of alternative fuels as an economic measure and corporate foresight. The concluding chapter wraps up with a discussion on where air transport is headed.

After the completion of the National Research Council (NRC) report, Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aeronautics: Scenario-Based Strategic Planning for NASA's Aeronautics Enterprise (1997), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology requested that the NRC remain involved in its strategic planning process by conducting a study to identify a short list of revolutionary or breakthrough technologies that could be critical to the 20 to 25 year future of aeronautics and space transportation. These technologies were to address the areas of need and opportunity identified in the above mentioned NRC report, which have been characterized by NASA's 10 goals (see Box ES-1) in "Aeronautics & Space Transportation Technology: Three Pillars for Success" (NASA, 1997). The present study would also examine the 10 goals to determine if they are likely to be achievable, either through evolutionary steps in technology or through the identification and application of breakthrough ideas, concepts, and technologies.

Advanced aerial mobility is a newly emerging industry that aims to develop and operate new air vehicles potentially capable of safe, reliable, and low-noise vertical flight. The world has seen a recent increase in the adoption of electric vertical lift aircraft for urban, suburban and rural operations. These new innovations and technologies change the way that we move cargo and people, affecting industries across the economy. These changes will challenge today's airspace monitoring systems and regulatory environment. The U.S. government and its regulatory agencies need technical guidance to facilitate the development of these technologies, and to create the regulatory framework to foster the growth of this vertical flight industry to the benefit of the aviation industry. Advancing Aerial Mobility evaluates the potential benefits and challenges associated with this emerging industry. This report provides recommendations that seek to foster an environment in which the nation can maintain its leading position in developing, deploying, and embracing these new technologies. This publication presents a national vision for advanced aerial mobility, market evolution, and safety and security management.

Aviation Law and Policy Series # 19 The incursion of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is radically reshaping the future of international civil aviation. As the civil uses of UAS increase and the technology matures in parallel, questions around the associated legal implications remain unanswered, even in such fundamental legal regimes of international civil aviation as airspace, aircraft, international air navigation, international air transport, and safety. This book – the first to consider international law and regulations to cross-border civil flights of UAS – explores current legal and regulatory frameworks from the perspective of how they may facilitate the operations of UAS. The author, a well-known air law practitioner and diplomat, identifies the legal challenges and proposes sound, well-informed measures to tackle those challenges. The book explores comprehensively the means of incorporating UAS within the arena of air law while stimulating further research and debate on the topic. Analysis of the cross-border operations of UAS focuses on aspects relevant to their immediate future, and address such questions as the following: What processes are currently in place? What factors require attention? What aspects particularly influence the future of UAS? Is the current international legal framework adequate to ensure the operation and development of UAS while preserving high levels of safety? How will artificial intelligence impact the civil operations of UAS? The author’s analyses draw on relevant initiatives in existing and proposed Standards and Recommended Practices for the operation of UAS on cross-border flights, as well as States’ regulation of UAS within their national airspace. Also described are the main bilateral and multilateral air services and transport agreements with respect to their application to the operation of UAS. Given the escalating need to adopt a comprehensive international regulatory framework for the operation of UAS aimed at facilitating its safe and efficient integration – even as the technology advances and continues to outpace law while the potential for incidents involving UAS grows – this book is well timed to meet the challenge for States and International Civil Aviation Organization and airspace planners. Its innovative approaches to the management of the air traffic safety and security of UAS are sure to influence the development of regulations for civil UAS. The book will be welcomed by aviation regulators, interested international and regional organisations, research organisations, aviation lawyers, and academics in international law and air law.

When discussing the risk of introducing drones into the National Airspace System, it is necessary to consider the increase in risk to people in manned aircraft and on the ground as well as the various ways in which this new technology may reduce risk and save lives, sometimes in ways that cannot readily be accounted for with current safety assessment processes. This report examines the various ways that risk can be defined and applied to integrating these Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It also identifies needs for additional research and developmental opportunities in this field.