SkyDrive proposes four initial Osaka eVTOL routes
Japanese eVTOL manufacturer SkyDrive, in partnership with Osaka Metro, has unveiled plans to connect four key destinations in the city of Osaka from 2028.
The ‘Osaka Diamond Route’ incorporates four locations identified as “critical hubs” for the city’s eVTOL network, including Morinomiya, Shin-Osaka/Umeda, Tennoji/Abeno, and the Osaka Bay Area. With these proposed areas “strategically selected to highlight Osaka’s breathtaking cityscapes and offer convenient access to major tourist attractions,” SkyDrive aims to offer what it calls “new value in airborne sightseeing and travel” with its three-seat, SD-05 aircraft.
The partners plan to operate the first commercial eVTOL services in the Morinomiya area from “around 2028,” subsequently expanding operations through 2030 and beyond. These plans have been informed by Osaka Metro’s establishment of an ‘eVTOL promotion office’ in October 2024, through which the urban transport provider and eVTOL manufacturer have worked to assess market demand, potential vertiport locations, and commercial feasibility.
The partners will now continue to collaborate closely with relevant authorities, organisations and business partners to mature these findings and ready routes for commercial services. These will follow a phased expansion plan, initially connecting the surrounding suburbs before moving into the greater Kansai region – something SkyDrive believes will “provide passengers with added value through new air transport services, developing an upgraded transport infrastructure that will enhance Osaka’s reputation as a leading city for innovation and tourism”.
In February 2024, Osaka Metro was selected as an operator of a vertiport outside the upcoming Osaka World Expo 2025, participating in the event’s advanced air mobility Smart Mobility Expo initiative. Although SkyDrive had originally intended to make commercial flights during the event, in June this was revised to demonstration flights only, with SkyDrive Tomohiro Fukuzawa citing unspecified safety concerns of operating customer-carrying services at the event. In August 2024, SkyDrive and Osaka Metro signed an agreement to collaborate on the ongoing use of SkyDrive’s SD-05 aircraft after the event’s conclusion.
