Electric and low-emission city aviation is taking off. Regional manned air services are also being electrified. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, is becoming increasingly common in cities. Smaller drones are already used for photography, inspection, delivery, search and rescue, for example. Sustainable city aviation brings efficiency, safety and new services to the urban environment.
City Aviation project
Helsinki is preparing for the air traffic of the future with the City Aviation project (formerly known as the U-space project). The aim of this long-term development project is to build a clear picture for the City of how the evolving aviation will affect the city structure, safety, environment and services. The project will produce recommendations for planning urban air mobility and anticipating space needs.
Metropolitan UAM project
The Metropolitan UAM project is a follow-up project for the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in which Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa are creating a common vision and approach for the development of low-altitude urban airspace.
The aim is to build a common operating model for urban air mobility in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area that supports both the safe use of airspace and the opportunities of companies and the data economy. The project was launched in 2025 and will end in 2027.
Read more about the Metropolitan UAM project (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
Publications
- Sähköisen ilmaliikenteen mahdollisuudet Helsingin kaupungille (“The potential of electric air transport for the City of Helsinki”) (PDF, in Finnish). Destia Oy 2025.
- Dronetag Scout Pilot Test. Helsinki case study drone monitoring (PDF). City of Helsinki 2024–2025.
- Helsingin kaupunki-ilmailun elinkeinovaikutuksia arvioiva selvitystyö (“Economic impact assessment of urban mobility in Helsinki”) (PDF, in Finnish). Sitowise 2025.
- Lentopaikkaselvitys. Regional Air Mobility (RAM) -lentämistä varten eSTOL-koneilla. AURA-malli (“Aerodrome survey. For Regional Air Mobility (RAM) flights on eSTOL aircraft. AURA model”) (PDF, in Finnish). Sitowise 2025.
- Study on the Future of Helsinki’s Urban Air Mobility (pdf, på engelska). FLOU, Robots.Expert. City of Helsinki 2023.
- Selvitys kaupunki-ilmailun (Urban Air Mobility, UAM) tulevaisuudesta Helsingissä. Tiivistelmä. ("Study on the Future of Helsinki’s Urban Air Mobility. Summary." ) (pdf, på finska). FLOU, Robots.Expert. Helsingin kaupunki 2023.
- Theses: Evaluating Route Suitability for Electric Regional Aviation in Finland (PDF)(Link leads to external service). Miguel Lopes Alves. Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences 2025.