ROME - SITA, a leading IT provider to the air transport industry based in Geneva, and UrbanV, an Italian vertiport operator in Rome, have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a digital-first passenger experience for UrbanV’s vertiports in Rome due to start operations in 2024.
From UrbanV’s test vertiport at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, both parties will design, test, and refine a new passenger processing and operating ecosystem to support the first flight between Fiumicino and Rome’s city center. SITA will deploy its expertise in air transport for the emerging Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry, developing new operating standards and a digital-first passenger experience. The partnership will leverage SITA’s portfolio, which includes a wide range of IT solutions for airport management, network connectivity, passenger, flight, and aircraft operations.
SITA and UrbanV will also closely collaborate to test and validate UrbanV’s concept of operations blueprint in Rome and evaluate potential commercial synergies worldwide for a joint go-to-market in the Advanced and Urban Air Mobility segment.
UrbanV envisions vertiports being interoperable by multiple eVTOL operators and integrated within the local aviation ecosystem, such as Fiumicino Airport. This is aligned with SITA’s vision of vertiport systems being natural peering and aggregation points with shared components and services to facilitate data exchange, providing cost efficiency and economies of scale for all AAM operators.
Carlo Tursi, UrbanV CEO, said: “UrbanV and SITA share an aviation background and an innovation mindset. This will enable us to develop an agnostic, modular, and repeatable approach to designing, building, and operating vertiports globally. Italy will be our launch country, and Rome will be one of the first cities in the world where AAM services will be available. This partnership allows us to offer a unique value proposition to be scaled globally and to accelerate the adoption of AAM services.”
