Eve Air Mobility Presents Vector and Provides Updates on the Urban ATM Software Development

Eve Air Mobility (“Eve”) has released today at the Airspace World in Geneva
the name of its Urban Air Traffic Management (Urban ATM) software and
provided updates on the solution’s development. Vector will be an
agnostic software solution designed to safely address the unique air
traffic and network management challenges of current and future Advanced
Air Mobility (AAM) operations, focusing on fleet and vertiport
operators, and future service providers for AAM, including Air
Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). The company is advancing towards
an operational version of the software which customers can test and
trial to help progress the market.

“Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft flights will
become an established transportation mode for communities worldwide. Eve
expects first deliveries and entry into service as soon as 2026 and has
been addressing the airspace and Air Traffic Management (ATM) challenges
to support the introduction and growth of the market in a harmonized and
safe way. Vector will streamline AAM operations from day 1, coordinating
all stakeholders involved to enhance safety, optimize performance, and
maximize resource usage,” said Johann Bordais, Eve’s CEO.

Vector will allow eVTOLs to be integrated with other aircraft flying in
low-level urban airspace from day 1 of operations and provide the
automation needed to enable Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market scalability.
To date, Eve has 14 (fourteen) customers for the solution, including
fleet operators, vertiports and airspace and flow management providers.
With Vector, eVTOL operators will make their operations more efficient;
vertiports will manage resource availability with all operation
stakeholders involved; and ANSPs and Providers of Services (PSU) for UAM
will optimize the airspace and air traffic network for all users.

In November 2023, Eve partnered with Flexjet to conduct a simulation to
validate and refine Vector’s capabilities [1] under real-scenario
conditions and better understand the software's commercial viability and
applications. The simulation took place in the UK and involved 18
flights across eight aerodromes, exercising 26 different routes with
alternative landing locations to test the standby flight plan
functionality. The team also tested delays at departure and destination
with impacts on incoming flights, flight cancellations due to airspace
and weather constraints, and in-flight emergencies, including
alternative landing location requests.

The Eve-Flexjet simulation has found gaps between current ATM systems
and those required to support UAM operations from Day 1, such as the
lack of integration between fleet and vertiport operator systems to
coordinate eVTOL flights safely and efficiently. Therefore, Eve is
prioritizing the development of services that address these gaps,
including integrated flight planning with airspace and vertiport
resource availability; management of alternate landing locations built
into the flight planning to support the endurance limitations of
electric aircraft; and conformance management to inform stakeholders
when flights deviate from their plan and may affect other flights.

“Flight dispatchers are responsible for nearly all aspects of an
operation, which requires extensive decision-making and tracking
abilities. Urban ATM services can support these activities in
preparation for AAM operations through increased levels of automation
and an integrated view of the relevant information tied to a specific
flight. Eve has been actively incorporating features, including feedback
received through user testing, into Vector to ensure the value of its
services translates directly to the end users”, added Brenden Hedblom,
Eve’s head of traffic management solutions.

As Vector matures, Eve continues to pursue additional opportunities to
trial the solution with its customers and partners. Testing it in
real-world scenarios is the best way to ensure the services provide
optimal value. The company expects this year to advance towards an
operational version of the software which customers can test and trial
to help advance the market and prepare the UAM ecosystem for initial
operations.