b'66 INDUSTRY INSIDERNow is the Time for Los Angeles to Lean Into its Aviation Legacy and Shape the FutureLA COULD BE A GLOBAL MODEL FOR HYPER-MODAL LIVEABILITY AHEAD OF THE 2028 OLYMPICS,BUT IT MUST MOVE QUICKLYLos Angeles has a long historyto operate electric-powered vertical of pioneering transportationtake-off and landing aircraft, known inChris Runde, director innovations. The first flightsthe industry as eVTOLs, at the event.of Innovation and vice to circumnavigate the globe took offWhile this demonstration isnt at scale, itpresident of Aviation at Introba, has more than and landed in our back yard at Santashows that our science-fiction, Jetsons20 years of innovation Monica Airport almost 100 years ago.future is much closer than we think.program experience The 27,000-mile journey took 175 daysWith these trends in mind, our teamsacross Accenture, TSA, AAAE and and relied heavily on printed maps andresearched the transportation pioneeringprivate industry. rudimentary navigational tools. opportunities around LA and highlighted Fast-forward to today; the challengethe potential to reimagine Santa Monicahours per year to ease traffic flows, has shifted from spanning distances toAirport (SMO), which, despite itsfrom downtown LA, Burbank or Orange answering questions on local liveability,illustrious history, is set to close in 2028.County and beyond.congestion, emissions and integratingLocal leadership realizes the unique emerging technology. Nowadays,opportunity and recently launched anEasing congestion is just the you will find self-driving cars on LAextensive community engagementbeginning. With proper vision, SMO neighborhood streets, app-basedproject regarding the future of thewill be a model for mobility, community, transportation options at our fingertipsairport. SMO has the right location,sustainability and future-flexibility. The and transformational businesses likespace and community culture to benext iteration of SMO will provide:SpaceX operating in Silicon Beach. a model for the future of community-l ife-saving services for the The world will be coming to Californiafocused transit hubs.community, in the next few years as it holds soccerWe gathered experts in sustainability,rainwater innovations that quell matches for the FIFA World Cup in 2026,transit planning, human experienceflood risk while providing drought and hosts the 2028 summer Olympicsand other areas to analyze SMO frommitigation, here in Los Angeles. Both will be idealdifferent angles. The result was a vision equitable and intuitive transportation chances for LA to embrace its innovationof SMO that brings innovation trainingfor people and things, heritage and grab the global spotlight asand entrepreneurship, integrated modeslocal markets and cultural events, a model for the future of transportation.of transit, environmental excellence andand So how do we capture this uniquea sense of place where the communityinnovation incubation perfectly opportunity?gathers.aligned with SMOs rich history. Like the first pilots to fly around theWe also developed a platform calledCreating a new vision for SMO could world, we must embrace uncertaintyAirformer to analyze the impacts of aircascade across the Greater LA area and and reimagine our transportationmobility including insights on travel time.benefit 18.5 million residents throughout infrastructure. Next-generationThe system showed that a typical drivethe state. By investing in this vision spaces and assets are multipurpose,from Santa Monica to downtown LA cannow, we can start introducing transport technology-enabled, integrated withtake up to 60 minutes, while a direct- infrastructure and solutions that improve nature and focused on benefits toline eVTOL could take that trip down topeoples lives in the coming months and citizens and communities.a mere six minutes. We found similaryears, benefiting our environment and time savings across the region, wherehelping show California at its best on the The future of transportation iseVTOL operations at scale could resultworld stage. happening now. Paris is hosting thein commuter time savings of 13 million 2024 Olympics and promoting its intent November | December 2023AirportImprovement.com'