Israel Advances National Policy to Regulate Drone Infrastructure for Urban Air Mobility

Israel's Planning Administration has initiated the development of a national policy document to regulate drone infrastructure across the country. This effort aims to establish planning, environmental, and transportation principles for creating an advanced air mobility (AAM) network using electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The initiative responds to increasing urban development, growing passenger and cargo traffic, and significant ground transportation congestion.

The policy envisions a complementary aerial transport system to alleviate ground traffic by shifting passenger and freight movement to the airspace. It includes plans for various drone landing facilities, ranging from small local vertipads (0.8 to 1.5 dunams) to urban vertiports (2.5 to 7 dunams) and large metropolitan vertihubs (12 to 27.5 dunams), some integrated on city rooftops. The document will address safety, noise, environmental impact, airspace management, electrical infrastructure, regulation, and connectivity to public transport, while considering Israel's unique challenges such as dense airspace, security needs, and population concentration.

Beyond passenger transport, the advanced air mobility system is expected to support heavy and light deliveries, medical shipments, emergency and rescue services, security, surveillance, advanced agriculture, and other industries. The policy is driven by increasing interest and initial requests for drone landing site approvals, aiming to provide uniform guidelines for planning authorities nationwide. It draws on international experience from countries like the US, UK, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UAE.

Rafi Almaliach, CEO of the Planning Administration, emphasized the need to prepare Israel for this transportation revolution, ensuring infrastructure readiness and safe integration of drones. Yoeli Or, CEO of Cando Drones, highlighted the opportunity to develop airspace as a new transport dimension, noting existing technological readiness and the importance of regulatory and planning support to realize large-scale implementation. Collaboration with the Civil Aviation Authority and Netivei Ayalon has already identified dozens of potential flight routes, moving the vision closer to reality.