Satellite communications provider Inmarsat and Flight Crowd, a not-for-profit organization formed to promote public awareness of urban air mobility (UAM), will collaborate on a series of outreach events.
Announced on July 21 at the Farnborough Airshow, the partnership will host events highlighting the importance of future flight technologies in transporting people, goods and services across regional, urban and underserved areas. The effort’s target audience is the wider aviation industry, governments and the public, including students engaged in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) activities.
“To ensure the adoption of urban air mobility is carried out in a managed and sophisticated way, operators must not only have the backing of the industry, but also positive public acceptance,” said Anthony Spouncer, Inmarsat Aviation senior director of advanced air mobility. “This simply will not be possible without an investment in education, which is exactly what this partnership aims to achieve.”
London-based Flight Crowd describes itself as an open UAM community of experts and enthusiasts focused on shaping public perception of the future flight industry.
In addition to co-hosting events, Flight Crowd has joined Inmarsat’s Velaris Partner Network. Announced in 2021, Velaris is a connectivity system designed to support flights of commercial drones beyond an operator’s visual line of sight. The system is founded on Inmarsat’s planned “Elera” upgrade of its L-band satellite network to deliver higher data speeds using smaller, lower-cost terminals.
“Inmarsat will be an unparalleled partner for our mission to strengthen the global community’s interest and support of electric and autonomous aviation,” said Mariya Tarabanovska, founder of Flight Crowd. “This partnership will help us contribute to the safe and connected future of air mobility, while ensuring the ecosystem is built on transparency, diversity and inclusion.”
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