SALAAM.earth (Sky Alliance for Automated Air Mobility), a non-profit association dedicated to advancing and integrating Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ecosystems, has inaugurated its first AAM test site in Saudi Arabia.
The test site of will function as a controlled, real-world validation environment (sandbox) to assess aircraft operations alongside the critical systems required for the safe deployment of Advanced Air Mobility. These include vertiports, digital air traffic management, and secure communications infrastructure. Flight operations are set to commence in Riyadh in the first quarter of 2026.
The first aircraft scheduled to operate at the site is the FlyNow eCopter, an all-electric, unmanned air taxi designed to travel up to 50 kilometers at speeds of 130 km/h, carrying either two passengers or up to 200 kilograms of cargo.
The SALAAM.earth facility will evaluate a range of operational scenarios, from urban passenger mobility and cargo logistics to emergency response missions such as firefighting and medical evacuation. The objective is to measure how electric vertical mobility platforms perform under practical, real-world conditions.
The sandbox initiative was led by FlyNow Arabia Ltd., a Saudi-headquartered company established to localize the production, deployment and commercialization of the eCopter developed by FlyNow Aviation GmbH of Austria.
SALAAM.earth project convenes full AAM value chain
As the first operational implementation of the SALAAM.earth framework in Saudi Arabia, the test site brings together member organizations across the AAM value chain, which includes,
• FlyNow Aviation provides the eCopter platform.
• Skyroads delivers digital air traffic management and automated flight coordination.
• Unified Aviation provides vertiport and landing infrastructure solutions.
• Quadron contributes cybersecurity expertise for safety-critical systems.
• Makonis delivers secure digital infrastructure and system integration.
• GEME-Aviation provides aviation operations expertise and project coordination.
• International Advanced Air Mobility Trust (IAAM.Trust) provides a framework for verification and compliance of AAM vehicles operating in low-altitude airspace.
Yvonne Winter, President of SALAAM.earth, commented that, “We are not just testing the eCopter. Our goal is to establish a complete environment where next-generation aircraft, including those from other developers, can be tested and integrated into real-world infrastructure.” .
The sandbox aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals by accelerating innovation and advancing high-technology capabilities, while positioning the Kingdom as a leading early adopter of next-generation mobility solutions.
