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Japan aviation news

Wingcopter and ITOCHU start type certification process for Wingcopter 198 in Japan

With the support of ITOCHU Corporation, Wingcopter has applied and received acceptance for opening the type certification process of its Wingcopter 198 delivery drone in Japan. This marks the first time a foreign company’s drone and the first time a fixed-wing drone has been accepted under the unmanned aircraft class-1 type certification by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of...

AutoFlight delivers first electric air taxi to customer in Japan

AutoFlight officially delivered its first Prosperity aircraft to a customer in Japan, marking the world’s inaugural delivery of a civilian ton-class eVTOL aircraft. The five-seater Prosperity aircraft was handed over to the customer, a pioneering Advanced Air Mobility operator in Japan. The operator, to be identified in due course, is currently developing plans...

EHang announces Japan first UAM center in Tsukuba

 EHang  announced that Japan' first UAM Center has been established in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture. This state-of-the-art facility serves as a demonstration flight site, ground infrastructure, and maintenance base for EHang eVTOL aircraft in the region, including EH216-S. This UAM center is a milestone in Japan's advanced air mobility industry. Tezuka Kiwam...

Advancing eVTOL operations in Japan - Airbus and Hiratagakuen evaluate a multi-mission use of CityAirbus NextGen

With recent completion of CityAirbus NextGen assembly, Airbus’ advanced air mobility teams are focused on putting together the major components that make up the eVTOL prototype, gearing up for its first flight later this year. In addition to reaching this major milestone, the teams continue to work on the development of the entire ecosystem, which will be necessary to operate CityAirbus...

Volocopter completes test flights over Osaka and Amagasaki

From 7 to 13 december Volocopter successfully conducted a multi-day flight test campaign with a crewed 2X aircraft in the Japanese cities of Osaka and Amagasaki. It is the completion of the first steps of local flight testing to acclimate the crew, communications tools, and flight test procedures in preparation for the 2025 World Exposition, Osaka Kansai EXPO. The 500-day countdown to th...

Joby, ANA Holdings Partner with Nomura Real Estate Development for vertiports in Japan

Joby Aviation has partnered with ANA Holdings and Nomura Real Estate Development on the development of take-off and landing infrastructure, known as vertiports, to support the commercialization of its electric air taxi service across Japan. Three companies plan to jointly explore the design, location, operation, and financing of vertiport locations that will serve as the backbone of future co...

VINCI Airports inaugurated renovated International Terminal at Kansai International Airport

On December 5th, VINCI Airports, operating Kansai Airports since 2016 in partnership with the Japanese company Orix, inaugurated the renovated international terminal of Kansai International Airport. This major renovation is designed to enhance the passenger experience as well as to increase the surface dedicated to international travel. The project serves multiple purposes. It allows to incre...

SkyDrive selected for innovation grant worth up to 12.4 billion yen by Japanese government

SkyDrive has been chosen by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for the ”Next-generation Air Mobility Field" of the Small and Medium Enterprise Innovation Promotion Project. SkyDrive has been granted approximately 12.4 billion yen which will support the development of innovative technologies aimed at enhancing future social implementation, including reducing traffic congest...

JAL Group launched ‘Sustainable Challenge Flights’ during the UN SDG summit period

JAL Group announced another challenge towards a sustainable future, “Sustainable Challenge Flights” on the JL6 flights from Tokyo (Haneda) to New York, from September 14th to 20th, under the slogan “A sustainable future together”. This is the second phase of our sustainable challenge flights following the successful Tokyo (Haneda) to Okinawa (Naha) charter flight last Novem...

Japan Airlines launches clothing rental trial for eco-friendly travel

Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corporation will launch a trial of the "Any Wear, Anywhere" clothing sharing service for foreign tourists and business travelers to Japan who use JAL-operated flights and will measure the environmental value of using the Service. With more and more people flying again after the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the recent emphasis in sustain...

Thales and SkyDrive give wings to safe and sustainable air mobility

SkyDrive has selected Thales FlytRise flight control system to equip its future three-seat zero emission SKYDRIVE eVTOL aircraft. With ground traffic congestion and associated pollution becoming a major concern in cities around the world, eVTOL aircraft represent a disruptive solution to mobility challenges. With the mission of “taking the lead in the once-in-a-centu...

First PC-12 NGX is flying in Japan now

First PC-12 NGX has been handed over to OpenSky, Japanese “Private Jet Membership” company. From now on, the single-engine turboprop with its unique Asian-style design will carry passengers to destinations all over Japan. It was already evening when the PC-12 NGX arrived in the Japanese megacity of Osaka after its ferry flight from Switzerland. Even though no information was publi...