The use of autonomous air taxis can be found in various strategy papers and is being considered in various countries or is being prepared on the technological and legal side. So far, the consideration of autonomous air taxis has been largely separated from the overall transport system. It has not been investigated for Austria what autonomous air taxis can contribute to the overall transport system as a new mode of transport. However, these considerations must be made in advance of a roll-out in order to be able to cushion negative effects on the transport system in time and to counteract rebound effects, which in addition to displacement effects can also include a change in the mobility behaviour of road users.

The aim of the "AirBility" project is to investigate various issues regarding the integration of autonomous air taxis into the overall transport system. The project will show what spatial, economic and social impact the integration of autonomous air taxis as a new mode of transport has on the overall transport system - illustrated using various use cases. Based on KPIs, the use cases are then evaluated, checked with regard to their mass suitability and fact sheets are derived. Recommendations are also made as to which use cases are profitable and contribute to improved traffic flow. An experience simulation makes the use cases tangible for different stakeholder groups and provides information about the attractiveness of the individual use cases for stakeholders.

The Urban Air Mobility module for MATSim (uam) was used to simulate air traffic on a pre-defined network. In the scenario of air taxis as feeder to the airport, multiple hubs in Vienna were connected to the airport whereas in the on-demand scenario, rural hubs were linked to hubs inside of Vienna while not allowing inner-city flights.

The setup of the scenarios is documented in the conference paper presented at the TRA in Dublin, Ireland in 2024. Further results are documented in the final report.