Korean Air Invests in Urban Air Mobility and Aviation Safety Hub

Korean Air is investing around $834 million to build an Urban Air Mobility and Aviation Safety Research and Development Center to support efforts to develop new transportation technology in South Korea. The new future mobility and innovation hub is expected to open in 2030 at Bucheon in Gyeonggi province.

The facility will include a research center where engineers will be focused on developing software and artificial intelligence applications for uncrewed air vehicles to be used in both commercial and defense use cases. It will also consist of a major new flight training center, consolidating flight operations for Korean Air and Asiana Airlines and with capacity to train up to 21,600 pilots each year. Additionally, there will be a safety experience center that will offer immersive training for airline personnel as well as local businesses.

Announcing the launch of the project this week, Korean Air said it will break ground in 2027 on a center that will employ more than 1,000 people. Other partners include the city of Bucheon and the Korean Land and Housing Corporation.

South Korea is among several nations worldwide that have prioritized investment in advanced air mobility and related technology. Korean automotive giant Hyundai has its own eVTOL aircraft subsidiary called Supernal and local start-up Airbility is working on a hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft.