Christina Suomi

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