Oman’s advanced air mobility strategy enters intensive consultation phase

MUSCAT: Oman’s push to develop a national framework for next-generation aviation is entering a key new phase, with the international GUAMobility consortium launching its second mission in the Sultanate to advance the National Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Strategy.
The latest phase shifts the focus from initial strategic alignment and stakeholder mobilisation to intensive consultation, data gathering and validation of proposed strategic directions against Oman’s operational requirements, according to GUAMobility.
Seven workshops are scheduled in Muscat during September, bringing together government authorities, operators, technology companies and other economic stakeholders to help shape the national roadmap for the phased deployment of AAM technologies.
The programme begins with a workshop focused on AAM companies and prioritisation of potential use cases, followed by discussions covering urban planning, infrastructure and tourism. Subsequent sessions will address cross-sector coordination within the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT), training and skills development, regulation and safety, low-altitude aviation security, airspace management and Unmanned Aircraft Traffic Management (UTM).
The consultation programme concludes on September 23 with a workshop dedicated to investment, financing and public-private partnerships.
According to GUAMobility, the exercise will gather data on the needs, constraints and priorities of authorities, operators and economic stakeholders, helping underpin the national roadmap and prepare the ground for subsequent stages of AAM deployment.
“The ambition goes far beyond drones and eVTOLs,” the consortium said, describing the initiative as an effort to create a new dimension within Oman’s mobility, aviation and logistics ecosystem aligned with Oman Vision 2040.
The GUAMobility-led international consortium was formally mandated in June by MTCIT, in coordination with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Oman Logistics Center (OLC), to develop Oman’s National Advanced Air Mobility Strategy.
The programme is intended to establish a framework for the progressive integration of drones and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft into Omani airspace. Potential applications include passenger transport, cargo logistics, emergency medical services, search and rescue, infrastructure inspection, security and oil and gas operations.
GUAMobility’s core consortium partners include Innovitech, DTA International and Oman-based GIS HUB, supported by specialist partners including Egis, Setec, CGX, Jade Advisory, MIXHIVE, LUNA and FRACS, bringing expertise spanning innovation, engineering, infrastructure, geospatial technologies, aviation safety and strategic advisory services.
The initiative also dovetails with Oman’s broader National Aviation Strategy 2040. During its 2027–2030 “Acceleration and Takeoff” phase, the national aviation roadmap specifically envisages establishing an AAM regulatory framework, developing a nationwide UTM platform and activating advanced air mobility within a controlled sandbox environment.
The latest mission is therefore expected to help bridge the gap between high-level strategy and eventual real-world deployment - a progression GUAMobility characterises as moving “from Strategy to Sandbox” and ultimately “from Sandbox to Operations”.