Along with the rise of rockets and drones, flying taxis will start flying in important regions of the world in the current decade. The increasing presence of different vehicles in different layers of the atmosphere may make passenger flights risky. To deal with this issue, major changes will have to be made to the existing airspace management. Some regulators have already shown readiness. However, many experts have also commented that these changes are not enough. News FT.

“Airspace users are increasing and more vehicles are asking to use the airspace. The way we provide services now may change significantly in the future,” said Eduardo Garcia, senior manager of the Future Skies division at air traffic control agency CANSO.

He added that airspace management is a critical issue and change will not be easy. Being a security-related industry, aviation has a lot to do with it.

Several airlines have already seen problems with rockets. Last month, the US government warned of the risks of a SpaceX rocket booster re-entering the atmosphere in the Indian Ocean. This led to the cancellation of several flights between Canberra, Australia, and South Africa. However, Chris Quilty, co-CEO of consulting firm Quilty Space, said that the cancellation of the Canberra flight is a small concern considering the rapid development of the space industry. Because now, in addition to rocket companies, many startups want to work in space. Work is underway to produce various products, including pharmaceuticals, in a zero-gravity environment. These products will later have to be returned to Earth, which could create more challenges for airspace management.

SpaceX is returning the booster portion of the rocket to Earth in a ‘controlled reentry’ method. But there are also major risks to returning an object from space to Earth uncontrollably. For example, in 2022, hundreds of flights were delayed when the remains of a Chinese rocket re-entered the atmosphere, partially closing the skies over Spain.

Regulators are imposing new requirements to reduce space debris and land failed rockets. Yet there is no universal rule for a safe return to Earth. “Orbital debris management is a critical issue for safety and airspace control,” said Ken Quinn, a partner at Clyde & Company and a former chief consultant to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Flight Safety Federation. “It increases the risk of commercial flight and needs to be better managed.”

Researchers at the University of British Columbia recently published a paper in the journal Nature, saying that while the risk of space debris colliding with aircraft is low, the risk increases with the number of re-entry and flights. A small piece of debris can be deadly for an aircraft.

On the other hand, cheap small drones have become a headache in the airspace below. In December 2019, London’s Gatwick Airport was closed for 36 hours due to drones, affecting about 140,000 passengers.

Several companies are optimistic about large battery-powered commercial aircraft within the next decade. Several EVTOL companies have already tested prototype flying taxis. Many industry experts believe that it is only a matter of time before these vehicles enter commercial travel networks. In 2024, Bain predicted that commercial air taxis could be operational within two to three years, and that it would take about 10 years for full-scale deployment.

It is generally expected that all flying taxis will eventually be driverless and operate at 5,000 feet. Regulators and airspace management agencies in Europe and the United States are preparing for this new era by connecting the spacecraft and flying taxis into a network. Recently, the UK airspace regulator NATS tested passenger air taxis taking off and landing at City Airport and city centers within 25 miles of Heathrow Airport.

The US regulator FAA recently reduced the airspace closure for spacecraft from ‘more than four hours’ to ‘more than two hours’. But the increase in the number of small flying vehicles will make it harder to manage the situation, which is also being measured by the capabilities of human intelligence. To solve this, Canso’s Eduardo Garcia said, ‘More automated technology and artificial intelligence will be needed, which will help us simplify our tasks.’