At the end of September 2023, INCAS – National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli”, in partnership with the Bucharest City Hall Mayor’s Office, the Bucharest Prefecture, the Progres Prin Educație Foundation and the Petőfi Cultural Association Bucharest organized “Urban Air Mobility for Bucharest – Smart City “, the first event dedicated to Urban Air Mobility in Romania.
The event brought together specialists in aeronautics from INCAS, ROMATSA (Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration), AACR (Romanian Civil Aeronautical Authority), the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest (UNSTPB), as well as representatives of the Bucharest City Hall Mayor’s Office and the Bucharest Prefecture, the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, the Department for Emergency Situations, the Department for Sustainable Development, as well as the Progres Prin Educație Foundation. The debates took place within five panels, which covered several topics related to Urban Air Mobility, in the context of Bucharest Smart City.
The purpose of the event was to introduce on the public agenda the concept of “Urban Airspace Mobility – UAM”, in the context of the accelerated development of technology, which will allow in the very near future the transport of goods, equipment, and people in the airspace of urban environments. UAM FOR BUCHAREST SMART CITY had as moderator Mrs. Anna de Hillerin from the Progres Prin Educație Foundation and as technical moderators Dr. Eng. Cătălin Nae and Eng. Cesar Banu from INCAS as well as Prof. Dr. Octavian Pleter from the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest.
In the first panel, Policies for the integration of UAM in the Smart City, the guests reviewed the local, national and regional context of mobility, several ideas and trends, the concept of UAM that is highly different compared to the classic aviation as well as new types of aircraft that will serve this ecosystem, which is still in the pioneering phase. The guests within this panel, Mr. Cătălin Aflat (Director General of the Bucharest City Hall Investment Department), Prof. Dr. Tudor Prisecaru (Secretary of State of the Ministry of Research, Development and Innovation) and Richard Budai (Sub-Prefect of the Municipality of Bucharest) analyzed the technologies and configurations of air vehicles, their infrastructure and, last but not least, the degree of society’s acceptance of this change.
The second panel, Markets and Services for UAM, having as speakers Mr. Cătălin Aflat (Director General of the Bucharest City Hall Investment Department), Gabriel Petrea (Deputy General Director – Smart City Cluster – National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest), Col. Marius Dogeanu (Head of the DSU General Directorate) and Cristian Iordache (Advisor of the Department for Sustainable Development), provided answers to several essential questions for the development of the UAM sector, namely whether there really is a market for these new aircraft, which are the most requested UAM services and who are the players most interested in investing in order to provide UAM services. The guests emphasized the huge potential that UAM represents for public institutions such as DSU, Firefighters, Police, Gendarmerie, considering the intelligent use of urban airspace for public service institutions.
The third panel – Technologies. Vehicle configurations for UAM represented the ideal framework for an applied and technical debate on the future of urban mobility, with the following guests: Mr. Radu Berceanu (AVI AERO – aircraft engineer, former senator and Minister of Transport), Prof. Dr. Marius Stoia (UNSTPB – Faculty of Aerospace Engineering), Prof. Dr. Luigi Obreja (UNSTPB – Faculty of Transport) and Dr. Eng. Andrei Neamțu – INCAS Project Manager). The topics discussed focused on air-taxi vehicles, drones and aircraft for utility missions, which can be used in public interest services but also their particular requirements. Furthermore, the issue of manufacturing these aircraft in our country, certification and their specific configurations was raised.
Panel number four, Infrastructure for UAM and the regulatory framework, had as guests Mr. Prof. Dr. Octavian Pleter (UNSTPB, Professor of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering – the technical moderator in this panel), Mr. Adrian Florea (ROMATSA Operational Department Director), Claudia Vîrlan (Head of Service (ATM/ANS) – Air Traffic Management/Air Navigation Services – AACR – Romanian Civil Aeronautical Authority) and Mr. Ioan Drăgan (SIMSOFT CEO). During the panel, the guests discussed about the critical infrastructure for the sustainable development of UAM in the cities of the future, about architectural concepts of the future, which will include vertiports, charging stations, but also platforms for take-off/landing dedicated to public utility services.
The final panel, Acceptance of UAM by society and the first steps towards recognition of UAM, raised the issue of integrating urban mobility in airspace into our lifestyle. Among those who took the floor, we mention Dr. Eng. Cătălin Nae (President and CEO of INCAS during 2007-2023, also the technical moderator in this panel), Prof. Stelian Fedorca (President of the Progres Prin Educație Foundation, initiator and founder of the Romanian Dual Education Authority), Prof. Dr. Daniel Crunțeanu – (UNSTPB– Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering) and Eng. Cesar Banu (INCAS Program Manager). The guests once again emphasized the role that education has in this emerging ecosystem, as well as the permanent communication with civil society for the development and implementation of vertical transport in large cities. Former Secretary of State Stelian Fedorca proposed the establishment of a pilot project that would bring together all the institutions and companies interested in getting involved in the implementation and development of this air urban mobility system.
Furthermore, during the event, our guests had the opportunity to watch a presentation of the INCAS UAS capabilities from the Strejnicu operations base, in Prahova county. The speaker was Eng. Cătălin Pascale from INCAS. The moderator of the event, Anna de Hillerin, forwarded the audience’s questions to the experts, and those present showed their interest in the development of this topic in the future.
The event took place following the collaboration protocol between the Bucharest City Hall Mayor’s Office and INCAS – National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli”, which was joined by the Bucharest Prefecture and the Progres Prin Educație Foundation.
Selected papers will be published in the scientific journal INCAS BULLETIN: 
