Wisk Aero has signed a memorandum of understanding with Airservices Australia, a government-owned organisation that provides air traffic management and associated services, laying the foundation for incorporating safe, autonomous air taxi travel into Australia’s airspace.

Australia is an important market for Wisk’s testing and evaluation programme and for future commercial service. In 2022, Wisk established an MoU with the Council of Mayors (SEQ), Australia’s largest regional local government advocacy organisation, and most recently expanded its partnership with Skyports Infrastructure to identify an entry-into-service network for its autonomous aircraft ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Wisk Australia has also recently been established to lead the company’s entry into service in Australia, and it will lead the engagement with Airservices Australia under this MoU.

The agreement with Airservices Australia ensures that critical airspace integration systems will be established before Wisk enters the market. Specifically, the MoU establishes a framework for:

- Evaluating initiatives that will incorporate autonomous air mobility networks into Australia

- Exploring how advanced air mobility, and in particular uncrewed, remotely supervised aircraft, can be integrated into the Australian national airspace

- Providing a forum for discussion on challenges and opportunities for development by identifying potential projects

- Collaborating and knowledge-sharing activities to improve practices related to autonomous air mobility networks.

Activities to be conducted under this MoU include workshops and simulations to understand how AAM systems and Airservices Australia’s systems will integrate into the national airspace.

“Australia has a history of aviation innovation and a vision for the future that includes advanced air mobility,” says Wisk VP of APAC and air operations Catherine MacGowan. “We're grateful to share that vision with Airservices, and to contribute to an air traffic system that meets the needs of AAM so we can bring safe, efficient air travel to communities in this region.”

The MoU benefits from Airservices Australia’s leadership in airspace reform, including its plans to establish a Flight Information Management System, critical for enhancing safety and for integrating AAM into a fully coordinated and seamless airspace. This integrated airspace approach is essential for ensuring the safe and efficient operation of all users, both traditional and emerging.

Wisk Australia will collaborate closely with Airservices to explore airspace procedures for autonomous aircraft, digital flight approvals, and time and trajectory-based operations, as well as how these procedures will operate within newly established vertiport environments. Together, this MoU aims to set standards for the safe and efficient integration of AAM into the national airspace system.

“The mutual benefit of this knowledge-sharing arrangement is that it will help both organisations better understand industry needs and challenges, and collaborate on strategies to ensure the safe and sustainable use of Australian airspace,” says Rob Sharp, interim chief executive officer of Airservices Australia.