The EU Drone Strategy aims to position Europe as a global leader in drones and Urban Air Mobility (eVTOLs). Enabling large‑scale commercial drone operations can deliver innovative mobility solutions that enhance efficiency and sustainability, yet these services are still not commonly integrated into local transport networks. This raises important questions for local authorities: What opportunities does Urban Air Mobility create, and what new responsibilities arise in ensuring safety, addressing public concerns, managing public space, coordinating services and supporting economic development?
Dr. Vassilis AGOURIDAS is the Co-Chair of IDI (ITS-Driven Innovative aerial services), an innovation and deployment platform launched at the ITS World Congress 2024 in Dubai and powered by ERTICO-ITS Europe with which Vassilis has been affiliated since September 2024. Previously, Dr AGOURIDAS had been with Airbus for 16 years, holding senior positions in Strategic Innovation and Corporate Development pioneering the Strategic Development of Urban Air Mobility. He is former Chairman of the UAM Committee of ASD Europe (the Aerospace, Security & Defence Industries Association of Europe) and he has been a member of the EASA's (European Commission's Aviation Safety Agency) Task Forces on Social Acceptance and on the Innovative Air Mobility (IAM) Hub. Dr AGOURIDAS led, as external expert, the team for the work of the European Commission's Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on the Guidance Material/AMCs of Article 18(f) of (EU) 2021/664 for the coordination mechanism and multilevel governance. Dr AGOURIDAS is currently an Advisor to Eurocontrol in the Advanced Air Mobility Study Group (AAM SG) of ICAO (the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation) where he has been leading the ‘AAM impacts and UN's Sustainable Development Goals’ subgroup and he has been the Focal Point for the 'Integrating with Mobility Plans & Community Engagement' topic of the Guidance Development WG.
Dr. AGOURIDAS is the Founder, and Strategic Advisor (Apr 2025-present), of the UIC2 (Urban Air Mobility Initiative Cities Community) established in October 2017 with the support of the European Commission, initially within the EU's Smart Cities Marketplace. Since September 2022, UIC2 has been the UAM Thematic Cluster of the EU's CIVITAS Initiative. Vassilis, as leader of the UIC2 (Oct 2017- Mar 2025) has led, amongst other, the development, by UIC2, of the EU's Urban Mobility Observatory publication on Urban Air Mobility and Sustainable Urban Mobility (SUMP-UAM, Practitioner Briefing) in 2021, and the UIC2 Manifesto on the Multilevel Governance of the Urban Skies in 2020.
City of Helsinki approaches urban aviation from a spatial, systemic, and climate-responsible perspective.
In a dense, sea-constrained city, space is the scarcest resource. By introducing the vertical dimension into mobility and logistics, we can reduce pressure on ground-level land use and increase the city’s functional capacity without expanding its footprint.
At the same time, any AAM or UAM deployment must align with our carbon reduction and sustainability targets. For us, urban air mobility is not a technology experiment—it is a question and a quest of how to integrate a new aerial layer into the city in a way that improves reliability, resilience, and environmental performance in a civil society.
That is why we built a U-space prototype directly into Helsinki’s digital twin: to simulate, visualize, test, and assess impacts before implementation. Even if cities do not own the airspace, we are responsible for how it affects our citizens and urban structure. Our role is to actively shape the transition—systematically, collaboratively, and in line with our long-term urban strategy.
Helsinki U-space project 2024-2028, which I've lead since 1st March 2024 LinkedIn Christina Suomi together with my highly appreciated colleague, co-pilot and team mate senior specialist of aviation and air space Mr Jukka Keski-Jaskari LinkedIn Jukka Keski-Jaskari will continue strong under a new name City Aviation as a new normal. We are supported by a brilliant team of specialist colleagues Mr Juha Niemelä and Mr Jukka Alander with GIS- and digital twin skills who are working under this umbrella.
Have a look into our 2 min videos with English subtitiles:
Drone transport from hospital to hospital - Helsinki-kanava (helsinkikanava.fi)
https://www.helsinkikanava.fi/fi/video/details/295922440
Drone transport from Vuosaari Harbour to Pasila - Helsinki-kanava (helsinkikanava.fi)
https://www.helsinkikanava.fi/fi/video/details/295923834
An engineering graduate from Cranfield University, I have been working in aerospace engineering and related topics since 1996. Seconded from the CAA-NL to EASA, I to part in several aircrraft certification projects, such as the Airbus A400M, and worked on early drone regulation frameworks around 2009. Following a short period at the Netherlands Aerospace Centre NLR as the department manager for Environment and Policy Support, I joined the Aviation Academy at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences as teammanager and lecturer in Aviation Engineering. I have dedicated the last 5 years to develop and discuss regulations for innovative aviation, such as drones and Urban Air Mobility, and on the energy transition of aviation in general and the resulting energy infrastructure challenges.
