Event Report:
2025 Advanced Air Mobility Roundtable

Global Airports Forum — 16 December 2025
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Hosted at the Global Airports Forum

Partners:

Introductory Note

A Launchpad for What Comes Next

Our Purpose

This report marks an exciting milestone in Saudi Arabia's Advanced Air Mobility journey — deliberately designed as a launchpad for what comes next, not a final destination. The Global Stratalogues roundtable in Riyadh brought together the right voices at the right time to explore what delivering AAM at national scale truly requires.

Our goal was straightforward: build a shared, grounded understanding of the opportunity ahead and identify where focused collaboration will unlock the greatest progress.

Vision 2030 as a Catalyst

Vision 2030 provides extraordinary momentum and strategic clarity. Now the opportunity exists to translate that vision into concrete action — getting specific about priorities, sequencing, and smart trade-offs. There are important questions ready to be tackled together: What should Saudi Arabia prioritize first? Which pathways offer the most promising returns? How do we build flexibility into plans when timelines shift, as they inevitably do in pioneering industries?

The operational dimensions are equally energizing. Aligning aircraft delivery schedules with realistic manufacturing capacity, building world-class pilot training pipelines, coordinating vertiport infrastructure with national grid upgrades — and as the network scales to 50+ sites, structuring financing that attracts the right partners and capital.

Introductory Note

From Strategic Vision to Operational Reality

Business Model Innovation

Business model development is where creativity meets opportunity. Should Saudi Arabia pioneer a national operator model, or would a multi-operator ecosystem drive more innovation? Who are the natural anchor customers? What ownership and risk-sharing structures make this attractive for both public and private partners? How do we align PIF's strategic objectives with the return expectations of commercial investors? These aren't obstacles — they are design choices that will shape a uniquely Saudi approach to AAM.

Building Public Trust

Public acceptance represents perhaps the greatest opportunity. Building trust is the foundation of sustainable growth. Upcoming discussions will focus on who is best positioned to lead community engagement, how to proactively build confidence, and what best practices can be adopted for transparent communication and incident response. Getting this right positions Saudi Arabia as a global model for responsible AAM deployment.


Our Commitment

This report sets the agenda for meaningful progress. It highlights areas where deeper collaboration — through focused roundtables and working sessions — will accelerate the path forward, identifying the critical conversations that need to happen now, with the right stakeholders, to ensure momentum continues building.

Global Stratalogues is energized to facilitate these discussions. The commitment is clear: help move AAM in Saudi Arabia from strategic vision to operational reality through collaborative problem-solving, shared learning, and actionable next steps.


Oscar Wendel
Founder & Chairman, Global Stratalogues

Executive Summary

Roundtable Findings: The Path Forward for AAM in Saudi Arabia

The Global Stratalogues Riyadh Advanced Air Mobility Roundtable on December 16, 2025, brought together industry experts, regulators, and investors to critically examine the path forward for next-generation aerial transport in Saudi Arabia. The discussion — moderated by Oscar Wendel and Fawaz AlSaleh under Chatham House rule — yielded a candid assessment of both the potential and challenges of AAM deployment. Participants collectively agreed that AAM, encompassing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) and related infrastructure, could transform mobility in the Kingdom — but only with clear regulatory frameworks, strategic infrastructure planning, viable business models, and public acceptance strategies in place.

Regulatory Frameworks

Saudi Arabia is proactively engaging GACA to expedite certification for eVTOL aircraft and vertiport infrastructure, adapting global safety standards without stifling innovation.

Business Model Realities

AAM services will not be commercially viable in early years without support. High upfront costs make ticket prices exorbitant if unsubsidized, requiring government-backed incentives or indirect support mechanisms.

Infrastructure & Power

Deploying AAM at scale demands a network of vertiports with megawatt-level grid connections, battery cooling, and passenger amenities — costing millions of SAR per location.

Market Demand

Near-term promise lies in targeted niches: premium travel, airport-to-CBD transfers, and VIP tourism. The sweet spot for early operations is roughly 30–60-mile trip distances.

Executive Summary

Key Findings: Society, Technology & Talent

Societal Acceptance and Safety

Public perception was repeatedly highlighted as a make-or-break factor. Community acceptance must be earned through demonstrated safety and proactive engagement. Any early accident or battery incident will likely be amplified by media, severely setting back public trust. The consensus was to start with small steps and transparency: public demonstration flights, stringent safety certification, and educating citizens on AAM technology and its safety architecture.

Innovation, Technology & Talent

Battery technology and vehicle design maturity were pinpointed as critical factors. Today's eVTOLs have limited range and require frequent charging or battery swaps. Autonomy is a game-changer on the horizon, but regulatory hurdles and public acceptance will delay fully autonomous passenger flights.

Saudi Arabia's AAM ambitions will also require developing local expertise across aircraft operations, maintenance, airspace management, and advanced manufacturing — particularly to operate safely in desert heat and sand conditions unique to the Kingdom.

Industry Background

AAM Developments in the Gulf Region

The Gulf region is rapidly emerging as a global testbed for Advanced Air Mobility, driven by ambitious national visions and investment in next-generation transport. The following overview draws on panel discussions at the CoMotion Global 2025 conference in Riyadh, where regional leaders and industry pioneers outlined bold plans to integrate electric air taxis into urban mobility systems.

Saudi Arabia's National Strategy

GACA has launched an AAM roadmap as part of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy — targeting 200 eVTOL aircraft, 50 vertiports, and 1.5 million passengers across five regions by 2030. Riyadh is positioned as the primary AAM hub given its growing population and congestion challenges.

Regulatory Alignment with Joby Aviation

In November 2025, GACA signed an MoU with Joby Aviation to streamline certification using U.S. FAA standards as the foundation — effectively aligning Saudi regulations with leading international benchmarks. Joby's broader Saudi strategy includes delivery of up to 200 aircraft (approximately $1 billion value) and collaboration with Aloula Aviation.

Riyadh City Integration

Planning is underway to integrate vertiports and routes into Riyadh's urban fabric. Early sites likely include King Khalid International Airport and King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), with an emphasis on multimodal integration so AAM functions as a mobility layer rather than an isolated luxury service.

Industry Background

Archer, NEOM, and a Multi-Provider Ecosystem

Archer and Pilot Deployments

Saudi Arabia is not betting on a single provider. At CoMotion Riyadh 2025, officials announced a collaboration with Archer Aviation to launch proof-of-concept AAM operations as early as 2026. Plans include pilot projects in Riyadh, Jeddah, and the NEOM and Red Sea giga-project regions, leveraging diverse sandbox environments to test different use cases.

As an airport operator managing multiple regional airports, Cluster 2 Airports plays an enabling role by aligning airport infrastructure, heliports, and future vertiport development with national AAM roadmaps, ensuring safe, phased, and scalable integration of next-generation air mobility.

NEOM–Volocopter Joint Venture

NEOM formed a joint venture with Volocopter to develop electric air taxi services for the mega-project, including early aircraft orders and demonstration flights. The Red Sea Global project is also embracing AAM with framework agreements to run pre-commercial evaluation flights starting in 2026.

Industry Background

Dubai, Abu Dhabi & the Broader Gulf AAM Landscape

Dubai's Air Taxi Program

Dubai has announced its intent to launch flying taxi services by 2026. The RTA has coordinated agreements among UAE civil aviation regulators, Skyports Infrastructure, and Joby Aviation for initial operations, positioning this as a flagship smart-city project.

Dubai Vertiport Network

Dubai's initial network is planned around four vertiport hubs: Dubai International Airport (DXB), Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, and Palm Jumeirah — designed as integrated nodes with passenger handling, charging, and transport connectivity.

Abu Dhabi with Archer

Abu Dhabi is advancing a parallel program with Archer Aviation, covering flight testing, regulatory engagement, and pilot training. The UAE's dual-track approach increases early deployment probability while requiring robust national airspace coordination.

Broader Gulf & MENA

Bahrain has partnered with Eve Air Mobility for a regulatory sandbox, while Oman has announced VTOL pilots for regional connectivity. Qatar and other GCC states are monitoring developments and may align with proven platforms as the market matures.

Industry Background

Key Obstacles to AAM Deployment at Scale

Despite significant momentum across the Gulf, substantial challenges remain before AAM can be deployed at commercial scale. Gulf regulators are balancing speed with safety, aligning certification with FAA and EASA frameworks while developing national requirements for aircraft, operators, vertiports, pilots, and maintenance.

Regulatory & Certification

Regulatory readiness remains foundational. Balancing international alignment with national adaptation is a complex, time-consuming process requiring early and ongoing engagement with manufacturers and international authorities.

Public Acceptance & Noise

Public misconceptions frequently equate eVTOLs with helicopters. Successful deployments depend on proactive engagement, transparent safety communication, and credible demonstrations of noise and operational impacts.

Airspace Integration

New traffic management approaches are needed for low-altitude operations at higher volumes than traditional helicopter activity — including digital UTM/UAM tools, defined corridors, and cyber-security measures.

Infrastructure Delivery

Vertiport planning faces challenges in real estate availability, land-use permitting, utility provision, high-voltage charging capacity, and passenger processing — all critical dependencies for network viability.

Economic Feasibility

Early AAM services will be premium, with uncertain demand elasticity and high operating costs. Long-term viability depends on utilization, cost reduction curves, and the eventual integration of autonomy.

Workforce & MRO

Scaling AAM requires pilots, technicians, safety managers, and airspace controllers trained for new aircraft and systems. Maintenance in Gulf conditions must address heat, dust, and rotor wear specific to the region.

Roundtable Deep Dive

Regulatory Pathways and Infrastructure Planning

Establishing the Regulatory Foundation

Establishing a clear and enabling regulatory framework was identified as the foundation for AAM progress. Unlike many countries where regulators are playing catch-up, Saudi Arabia has an opportunity to craft AAM regulations in parallel with industry development. A consistent theme was that safety cannot be compromised — AAM aircraft must meet stringent safety levels expected of commercial aviation, driving complex, time-consuming certification.

Large master-planned giga-projects provide controlled environments to pilot AAM services under regulatory oversight, serving as sandboxes to validate concepts before scaling to the wider national network. Saudi stakeholders emphasized early and ongoing engagement with international regulators and manufacturers to align standards, share best practices, and reduce uncertainty.

Building the Physical and Digital Network

Infrastructure must lead — or at least keep pace with — vehicle deployment. The roundtable advocated a network approach rather than ad-hoc pads, requiring a national plan that maps vertiport locations, route connectivity, and data sharing standards. This enables interoperability, efficient fleet routing, and consistent safety protocols.

Power supply is a significant constraint: simultaneous charging loads can exceed typical city-center grid capacity, requiring substation upgrades, new feeders, or energy storage integration. AAM at scale also requires a digital backbone: high-resolution mapping, reliable navigation, communications networks, and low-altitude traffic management suitable for high-frequency operations.

Roundtable Deep Dive

Business Models, Financing & the Role of Government

1

Early Market Realities

The roundtable's economic assessment was frank: vehicle procurement, charging infrastructure, pilots, insurance, maintenance, and regulatory compliance create a high-cost base. Early AAM services will likely require premium pricing, subsidy support, or both. Traditional market forces alone may not make AAM viable in its early years.

2

Role of Government and PIF

Saudi support is most defensible when AAM is linked to public value — improved connectivity, emergency response, congestion relief, and high-tech industrial development. State-backed entities may act as launch operators or anchor customers to de-risk early deployments, while private sector expertise accelerates execution.

3

Operator and Ownership Models

Possible models include a national operator running fleets and vertiports, a regulated market allowing multiple operators, or PPP structures with government owning certain assets and contracting operations. Partnerships with experienced international operators could bring proven capability, provided regulatory and commercial terms are clear.

4

Pricing and Revenue Strategy

Initial pricing is expected to align with premium services, supported by structured promotional strategies. Bundled offerings — tourism packages, premium airline transfers — and ancillary revenue from branding and logistics utilization can improve the overall business case and path to sustainability.

5

Phasing and Modular Growth

Given high costs and uncertainty, a phased approach is recommended: deploy a small number of strategic vertiports first, capture operational data, and expand modularly based on proven demand, measured safety performance, and community acceptance.

6

Path to Sustainability

Subsidies may take the form of infrastructure funding, land allocation, preferential power tariffs, or viability-gap mechanisms. Longer-term sustainability is expected to improve through scale, maintenance optimization, and partial automation as the technology matures and regulation evolves accordingly.

Roundtable Deep Dive

Market Demand, Use Cases & Commercial Viability

Premium Urban Mobility

Near-term demand will likely come from time-sensitive travelers and premium tourism. Airport-to-city transfers and high-profile event routes are strong initial candidates in Riyadh and other major hubs. The roundtable emphasized focusing on realistic, high-value use cases rather than assuming mass adoption — a strategically disciplined approach that protects early operator credibility.

Tourism, Logistics & EMS

Tourism experiences and transfers create early visibility and build public familiarity with the technology. Logistics operations may provide additional utilization and a pathway toward autonomy. Emergency medical services present high social value but require careful regulatory alignment and operational assurance to deploy responsibly.

Adoption and Competition

AAM will remain a complement rather than a replacement for ground and rail transport. Door-to-door experience, reliability, and integration with existing mobility options will determine adoption rates. Success metrics should prioritize safety, reliability, and demonstrated value over headline passenger counts.

Workforce and Localization

Saudi Arabia can position AAM as an industrial development opportunity by building local capabilities in MRO, digital airspace management, and manufacturing partnerships. Training programs should blend aviation fundamentals with digital skills — AI, data, and cybersecurity — to develop a hybrid workforce uniquely suited to the AAM ecosystem and competitive on the global stage.

Roundtable Deep Dive

Societal Acceptance, Safety & Public Engagement

Safety perception, noise, and trust were identified as the critical public factors determining AAM's long-term viability. Because aviation incidents attract outsized media attention, early operational safety and transparent communication are essential from the very first revenue flight.

Noise & Community Impact

Noise remains a high-risk obstacle. Early route planning should minimize residential exposure and prioritize controlled environments first. Community demonstrations and independently measured noise data will help set expectations and build the trust necessary for broader acceptance.

Media Strategy & Influencers

Influencer-led storytelling and credible "first rides" can rapidly shape public perception. This must be paired with responsible, evidence-based messaging and clear contingency handling for delays due to weather or operational constraints.

Battery & Turnaround

Charging speed, cooling requirements, and energy density limit range and utilization. Vertiport-based thermal management and power design must be engineered specifically for Saudi conditions, including extreme heat and dust exposure.

Autonomy & Operations

Autonomy may be technically feasible earlier than it is socially and regulatorily acceptable. A pragmatic approach advances autonomy in cargo and controlled environments while building trust in piloted passenger services over time.

From Vision to Implementation:

The Shared Conclusion

Advanced Air Mobility in the Gulf is moving from vision to implementation, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Riyadh and Dubai are advancing structured pathways that combine regulatory alignment, pilot projects, infrastructure planning, and strategic partnerships with leading OEMs. The broader region is also launching initiatives that may contribute to future interoperability and cross-border corridors.

Success will depend on resolving practical challenges across regulation, community acceptance, airspace integration, infrastructure delivery, economic viability, and workforce readiness. The roundtable's shared conclusion is clear: AAM in Saudi Arabia is achievable, but it requires coordinated, phased execution across regulators, infrastructure developers, operators, and investors.

Conclusions
Conclusions & Recommendations

13 Recommendations for Saudi Arabia's AAM Journey

01

Establish a Dedicated National AAM Task Force

Coordinate regulation, investment, and implementation under a single governance body.

02

Develop a Phased Implementation Plan

Define pilot routes, pilot vertiports, and measured expansion milestones with clear go/no-go criteria.

03

Use Sandbox Regions for Validation

Leverage giga-projects to test and validate operations under regulator oversight before national scaling.

04

Fast-Track Regulatory Frameworks

Maintain airline-level safety outcomes while streamlining approval pathways for a new class of aircraft.

05

Invest in Modular Vertiports

Design future-proofed power and cooling architecture to allow staged upgrades as demand grows.

06

Implement Noise Mitigation from Day One

Establish community-impact mitigation and public reporting as a baseline standard, not an afterthought.

07

Pilot High-Impact Public-Good Use Cases

Deploy EMS routes alongside premium commercial services to build broad public legitimacy.

Conclusions & Recommendations

Recommendations 8–13: Partnerships, Talent & Continuous Improvement

1

Structure Early Deployments as PPPs

De-risk private investment while ensuring public value through well-structured public-private partnership frameworks that align incentives clearly.

2

Use Strategic Aircraft Orders for Localization

Attract OEM localization and supply-chain capability to the Kingdom through coordinated procurement strategies and industrial offset requirements.

3

Build Training Pipelines

Develop comprehensive training programs for pilots, technicians, and digital airspace specialists through partnerships with aviation academies and technical institutes.

4

Execute Public Engagement Plans

Conduct demonstrations and maintain transparent safety messaging to build the community trust that underpins long-term commercial viability.

5

Prepare Operational Contingency Plans

Develop robust weather, rerouting, and alternative transport contingency protocols to protect public trust during inevitable early operational disruptions.

6

Continuously Iterate

Collect operational data, publish learnings openly, and improve standards and technology readiness in a transparent, evidence-based improvement cycle.

Quantitative Benchmarks

Aircraft Performance Benchmarks: Early-Generation eVTOL (2025–2028)

The following performance parameters are indicative for the first generation of commercially certified eVTOL aircraft entering service in the 2025–2028 timeframe. These benchmarks are intended to support infrastructure sizing, corridor planning, and operational modeling for Saudi Arabia's AAM program.

Quantitative Benchmarks

Vertiport Cost, Infrastructure & Power Requirements

Capital Expenditure Components

  • Land preparation and civil works
  • Passenger terminal and safety systems
  • High-voltage grid connection and substation
  • Charging and battery cooling infrastructure
  • Digital systems: UTM, communications, and security

Each vertiport site represents a multi-million SAR investment even at modest scale. Modular design allowing staged power and capacity upgrades is strongly recommended to avoid overbuilding in the early phases.

Power Requirements & Saudi-Specific Considerations

  • Peak load for a single fast-charging stand: 350–500 kW
  • Multi-stand vertiport peak loads: 5–15 MW
  • Grid upgrades required in urban centers to accommodate simultaneous charging
  • Cooling systems, dust mitigation, and redundancy increase both capex and opex
Quantitative Benchmarks

Operating Cost Benchmarks: Early Phase

Understanding the cost structure of early AAM operations is essential for designing financially viable business models and appropriate public support mechanisms. The following breakdown represents indicative shares of total operating expenditure for early-phase eVTOL services in markets analogous to Saudi Arabia.

Quantitative Benchmarks

Global Deployment Benchmarks: Comparative Overview

Understanding where Saudi Arabia sits relative to global peers provides essential context for timeline planning, risk calibration, and partnership strategy. The comparative data below reflects the status of leading AAM markets as of late 2025.

Quantitative Benchmarks

Demand Elasticity and Use-Case Benchmarks

Early Demand Concentration by Use Case

Trip Distance "Sweet Spot"

The most commercially viable early eVTOL routes fall within a specific distance band that balances time savings against battery range constraints:

30–60 miles (50–100 km)

Optimal corridor length for early eVTOL operations in Saudi Arabia

Below Range

Insufficient time savings over ground transport to justify premium price

Above Range

Battery and reserve constraints limit reliability and require charging stops

Quantitative Benchmarks

Subsidy and PPP Reference Models

Common Public Support Mechanisms

  • Land grants for vertiport sites and corridors
  • Grid and power infrastructure co-funding
  • Anchor demand: government travel and EMS contracts
  • Viability-gap funding for socially valuable routes
  • Preferential power tariffs for fast-charging infrastructure

Indicative Public Support Levels (Early Phase)

International reference models suggest the following public investment parameters for early AAM deployment:

  • 20–50% of infrastructure capex covered by public de-risking mechanisms
  • 5–10 year time-limited support window
  • Gradual tapering of support directly linked to demonstrated utilization and cost reduction milestones
Quantitative Benchmarks

Workforce Localization Benchmarks

Building a sovereign Saudi workforce for the AAM sector is both a Vision 2030 imperative and a prerequisite for long-term operational self-sufficiency. The following indicative training timelines apply to key AAM workforce categories, assuming structured programs beginning in parallel with early infrastructure development.

12–24

Months: eVTOL Pilots

For qualified aviators transitioning to licensed eVTOL operations, assuming type-rating programs aligned with GACA requirements.

18–36

Months: MRO Technicians

For maintenance technicians certified on eVTOL systems, including high-voltage electrical systems and rotor mechanics.

12–24

Months: UTM Specialists

For digital airspace and unmanned traffic management specialists, blending aviation and software competencies.

6–12

Months: Safety Officers

For safety and compliance officers with aviation background adapting to AAM-specific regulatory frameworks.

Annex A

Annex Summary: AAM Is Achievable — But Economically Fragile

AAM in Saudi Arabia is technically achievable and strategically valuable, but economically fragile in its early years. Phased deployment, PPP structures, sandbox environments, and public-value use cases are not optional — they are preconditions for sustainable scale.

The quantitative benchmarking across aircraft performance, vertiport costs, operating expenses, global comparators, demand elasticity, and workforce timelines collectively reinforces the roundtable's central qualitative conclusions. The data points in one consistent direction: Saudi Arabia has the strategic ambition, the policy frameworks, and the financial resources to lead global AAM deployment — but only through disciplined, phased execution.

Certification Readiness Gates

Network growth must be gated by certification milestones — no deployment should proceed ahead of regulator-approved aircraft and infrastructure standards.

Grid Capacity as a Prerequisite

Power infrastructure investment must precede vertiport operations — grid constraints are a hard physical limit that cannot be resolved after aircraft arrive on site.

Safety Performance Demonstrated

Public trust and further network investment are both contingent on an incident-free operational track record established in controlled early deployments.

Public Acceptance Validated

Expansion to new corridors and geographies should be gated by measured community acceptance data — not just operational readiness indicators.

Annex B — Deployment Scenarios

Scenario 1: Riyadh-Only Pilot-to-Scale

Strategic intent: Build a single-city "proof of scale" that becomes the national reference model — establishing the regulatory template and operating playbook for all subsequent deployments across the Kingdom.

Indicative Quantitative Ranges

  • Vertiports: 4 → 25
  • Aircraft equivalent capacity: 10 → 120
  • Annual passengers: ~50k → 600k
  • Typical trip length: 25–60 km
  • Peak vertiport power requirement: 5–15 MW per site
  • Indicative public de-risking: 20–50% of vertiport and grid enablement capex

Advantages

  • Fastest path to a credible national reference model
  • Concentrates regulator attention, airspace design, and safety governance
  • Simplifies public acceptance strategy with a controlled single-city narrative

Key Risks

  • Demand ceiling risk if the market remains niche
  • Corridor congestion if scaling outpaces UTM maturity
  • Perception risk: "AAM = luxury" if public-good routes are not visible early
Annex B — Deployment Scenarios

Scenario 2: Multi-Region Rollout

Strategic intent: Use diverse geographies to accelerate learning curves — tourism/resort, desert logistics, urban hub — while positioning AAM as a national industrial and mobility platform, not a single-city service.

1

Track A: Riyadh Anchor

Urban premium mobility and airport transfers — establishing the operational baseline and commercial proof point for the national program.

2

Track B: Giga-Project Sandboxes

NEOM, Red Sea, and AlUla environments for controlled scaling, tourism integration, logistics trials, and autonomy precursor operations in diverse conditions.

3

Track C: Secondary Hubs

Jeddah and Dammam/Khobar corridors for intermodal connectivity, expanding the national network and demand base beyond the capital.

Quantitative Ranges (Multi-Region)

  • Vertiports: 8 → 50
  • Aircraft equivalent capacity: 25 → 200
  • Annual passengers: ~150k → 1.5 million
  • Route portfolio: urban premium + tourism + EMS + logistics

Governance Requirement

This scenario demands a dedicated national AAM task force with a single certification playbook for vertiports, corridor and UTM interoperability standards, and unified safety reporting and public communication protocols across all operating regions.

Annex B — Deployment Scenarios

Scenario Comparison: Riyadh-Only vs. Multi-Region

Annex C — Vision 2030 Alignment

Mobility and Quality-of-Life KPIs

Strategic contribution: Reduce perceived travel time, improve urban experience, and enhance premium tourism mobility — directly supporting Vision 2030 quality-of-life and liveability objectives for Saudi cities.

Travel Time Reduction

Door-to-door travel time reduction on priority corridors, measured in minutes saved vs. peak road travel on equivalent routes.

Intermodal Connectivity Score

Percentage of AAM trips connecting to airports, rail, and metro nodes — validating AAM as a genuine mobility layer rather than an isolated service.

Service Reliability

On-time departure rate and cancellation rate due to weather and operational constraints — key indicators of public confidence and repeat usage.

Customer Safety Perception

Survey-based confidence index measured post-demonstrations and post-initial operations, tracking public trust development over time.

Annex C — Vision 2030 Alignment

Tourism, Economic Diversification & Private Sector KPIs

C2. Tourism and Destination Development

Strategic contribution: Strengthen destination accessibility and create premium experiences without overloading road capacity — supporting Saudi Arabia's ambition to host 150 million visitors annually by 2030.

Tourism-Linked Ridership

Percentage of AAM trips tied to resorts, events, and heritage destinations such as AlUla, Red Sea, and NEOM.

Visitor Spend Uplift

Premium package uptake: air transfer bundles as a proxy for incremental visitor spend generated by AAM accessibility.

Peak-Event Performance

Ability to move VIP and high-value visitors reliably during major events — a high-visibility performance test for the AAM ecosystem.

C3. Economic Diversification and Private Sector Enablement

Strategic contribution: Create new aviation-adjacent industries in operations, software, MRO, and infrastructure — crowding in private capital via PPPs and building a durable non-oil economic contribution.

PPP Mobilized Capital

Private investment (SAR) leveraged per SAR of public enablement — the headline indicator of commercial ecosystem health.

Local Supplier Participation

Percentage of vertiport and operating spend awarded to Saudi firms under IKTVA and localization frameworks.

SME Participation

Number of certified Saudi SME service providers in maintenance, charging, and digital systems — a measure of ecosystem depth.

Annex C — Vision 2030 Alignment

Localization, Skills, Employment & Logistics KPIs

C4. Localization, Skills & Employment

Strategic contribution: Build Saudi capability in MRO, safety management, digital airspace operations, and advanced aviation operations — creating high-quality employment aligned with Vision 2030 human capital goals.

  • Saudi workforce ratio in pilots (where feasible), technicians, UTM operators, and safety/compliance roles
  • Training pipeline throughput: graduates per year by role category across aviation academies and technical institutes
  • Certified local MRO capability: maintenance approvals and local repair turnaround times
  • Advanced skills mix: percentage of workforce with aviation and digital competencies (AI, data, and cybersecurity)

C5. Logistics and National Transport & Logistics Strategy

Strategic contribution: Niche logistics and emergency response capabilities that improve national resilience and validate the technology pathway toward autonomy.

  • EMS readiness: time-to-launch and time-to-arrival performance for medical missions where authorized
  • Cargo pilot utilization: payload missions per week and incident-free cargo hours as autonomy precursor data
  • Network resilience: contingency performance during road disruptions or peak congestion events
Annex C — Vision 2030 Alignment

Sustainability and Energy Transition KPIs

Strategic contribution: Demonstrate low-emission mobility where AAM demonstrably displaces high-intensity alternatives such as helicopters or high-emission vehicle journeys — contributing to Saudi Arabia's carbon reduction commitments without overstating the environmental case.

Energy per Passenger-km

Measured under actual Saudi heat conditions — not laboratory assumptions — to provide honest, defensible sustainability data for public reporting and policy evaluation.

Grid Impact Management

Peak demand smoothing via battery storage and intelligent load management systems — protecting grid stability while enabling rapid AAM network growth.

Emissions Displacement Proxy

Comparison against helicopter or high-intensity vehicle alternatives on the same corridor — quantifying the genuine environmental benefit of AAM on a route-by-route basis.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgement & Closing Statement

On behalf of Global Stratalogues, we extend sincere appreciation to all keynote contributors, roundtable participants, and invited experts whose insight and practical experience shaped the Advanced Air Mobility Roundtable in Riyadh. The depth of discussion reflected a shared commitment to moving AAM from concept to implementation, anchored in regulatory readiness, infrastructure integration, and operational realism.

We are particularly grateful to our Saudi partners and stakeholders for their leadership and openness in convening this dialogue in alignment with Vision 2030. Their engagement underscored the Kingdom's ambition to position Riyadh as a global reference point for next-generation mobility, where innovation, safety, and public value advance in parallel.

Fawaz AlSaleh

Aeronautica

Amal Al-Ruwaii

NeoSpace Group

Nabil Arnous

Innovation City

Husam Alzahrani

Cluster 2 Airports

Daniyal Qureshi

Global Airports Forum

This roundtable represents the foundation of an ongoing Global Stratalogues AAM dialogue series across priority markets, focusing on certification pathways, airspace management, vertiport development, public–private coordination, and scalable deployment models.

Oscar Wendel
Founder and Chairman, Global Stratalogues

Global Stratalogues Events

Global Stratalogues at UK Parliament

DAVOS

Global Stratalogues convenes senior leaders across government, finance, and industry at the world's most influential forums — from Westminster to Davos — to shape the policy, investment, and strategic frameworks that will define the future of aviation and mobility.

Global Stratalogues Events

Global Stratalogues Hosted by Qatar Financial Centre at Qatar Economic Forum

Global Stratalogues was honoured to be hosted by the Qatar Financial Centre at the Qatar Economic Forum — one of the region's most prestigious gatherings of global economic and strategic decision-makers. These engagements reinforce our commitment to building the cross-sector, cross-border dialogue that accelerates investable, sustainable progress in Advanced Air Mobility and next-generation transport across the Gulf and beyond.

The AAM Dialogue Continues

Global Stratalogues is committed to facilitating the critical conversations that move Advanced Air Mobility in Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf from strategic vision to operational reality. Our ongoing series of focused roundtables, working sessions, and thought leadership publications will continue to bring together the right voices, at the right time, to shape a credible, investable, and future-ready AAM ecosystem.

Join the Next Roundtable