The MAIA White Paper is OUT!
MAIA has finally published the high-level view of its results, togther with recommendations on how to exploit them in future research and development. The White Paper “Mobility innovation and airport access – Lessons learnt from MAIA and Way forward” is now available: do not miss out on the key insights for airports, transport service providers, UAM operators, OEMs, parking stakeholders, airlines, transport authorities and the European Union, insurers, and researchers.
Air travel is multimodal by nature. Any passenger using air transport services needs to combine them with other modes to complete the access and egress legs to the airports. However, the integration of new mobility technologies and services into existing airport access frameworks remains a critical challenge, and it is still unclear how they can help manage airport accessibility challenges. To help solve this, MAIA has assessed the accessibility conditions and challenges of European airports, and the risks and opportunities brought about by two innovation types: Cooperative Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM) and Urban Air Mobility (UAM). The project has developed solutions to prepare airports for an optimal implementation and operation of innovative multimodal airport access services based on CCAM and UAM technologies: MAIA-ENGINE, MAIA-CCAM and MAIA-UAM.
These tools are targeted at operators of airports, and of CCAM and UAM transport services, in addition to airlines to help them better address air passengers’ needs, parking and infrastructure managers together with energy suppliers for them to anticipate multimodal hubs requirements, and transport authorities to integrate the potential of transport innovations into their reflection on future transport systems’ planning. Finally, the research progress achieved in the MAIA project also aims at advancing upcoming research and development initiatives and support funding and insuring processes with relevant evidence.
The White Paper is the final outcome of the MAIA project with a dedicated objective of easy exploitation beyond the project lifetime. Help us disseminate and improve multimodal transport efficiency and sustainability through better integration of relevant innovation in Europe!
MAIA publication on vertiport placement in UAM research
Although the MAIA project officially concluded in 2025, its legacy continues through new scientific outputs that further advance research on sustainable and innovative airport access solutions.
A recent open-access publication, titled “A support to vertiport micro-location selection at airport for urban air mobility airport shuttle service”, has been published in the Journal of Urban Mobility. The paper explores one of the key challenges for the deployment of Urban Air Mobility (UAM): determining the optimal placement of vertiports within airport environments. The full publication is available here:
Vertiports, dedicated infrastructure for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, are expected to play a crucial role in enabling future airport shuttle services. However, while previous research has mainly focused on identifying general areas for vertiports, this study addresses a more complex and less explored question: where exactly within an airport these facilities should be located.
The paper introduces a decision-support framework designed from the perspective of airport operators. It evaluates potential vertiport locations based on key criteria such as safety, capacity, cost, and accessibility, and ranks candidate sites using a structured, multi-criteria approach.
In addition, the authors developed a Vertiport Sizing and Capacity Tool, which allows stakeholders to assess different infrastructure configurations and better understand trade-offs between space, performance, and investment costs.
The framework is demonstrated through a case study at Madrid Airport, highlighting how different placement choices can significantly impact operational efficiency and passenger accessibility. The findings underline the importance of precise, data-driven planning when integrating new mobility solutions into complex airport systems.
This publication reflects the continued relevance of MAIA’s work in supporting the integration of emerging mobility solutions into transport systems. By addressing critical infrastructure planning challenges, it contributes valuable knowledge for policymakers, airport operators, and researchers working towards the implementation of efficient, safe, and sustainable urban air mobility services.
New MAIA scientific publication
Modelling Future Demand for UAM and CCAM in Airport Access
The MAIA project is pleased to share a newly published scientific article that advances our understanding of how emerging mobility solutions (including Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) ) could reshape airport accessibility in the coming years.
The paper presents a robust and flexible demand-modelling methodology designed to forecast future modal split for airport access, integrating both existing and hypothetical transport modes within a discrete choice modelling (DCM) framework. Using survey data from over 29,000 passengers at Brussels Airport, the authors calibrate a nested logit model capable of incorporating new options such as UAM and CCAM even before these services are widely deployed.
The study applies this model to a synthetic airport passenger population and estimates that, under realistic future scenarios, UAM could capture 4.7% and CCAM 6.8% of airport access trips, primarily drawing users from taxis and private cars. The methodology is adaptable and assumption-agnostic, offering a valuable tool for policymakers, planners, and researchers as Europe prepares for the introduction of these innovative services.
Thank you for the amazing work on the paper to MAIA consortium members, Behzad Bamdad Mehrabani (Transport & Mobility Leuven), Vincent Henrion, Sebastian Hörl, Nikola Ivanov, Bojana Mirkovic, Juan Blasco Puyuelo, and Elke Bossaert.
🔗 Read the full publication on ScienceDirect:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213624X25002913?via%3Dihub
MAIA Final Event: Showcasing innovative solutions for smarter airport connectivity
On 4 November 2025, the MAIA SESAR Project successfully held its Final Event at Fira Barcelona, bringing together stakeholders from research, industry, public authorities, and the wider mobility ecosystem to explore how innovative multimodal solutions can strengthen the connection between airports and city centres. With a strong turnout and highly engaged audience, the event marked an important milestone for the project’s conclusion.
Setting the scene
The morning began with a brief welcome and an introduction to the MAIA event, followed by a presentation from the project officer of the SESAR Joint Undertaking, situating the project within the wider SESAR funding framework and its role in advancing smart, sustainable mobility across Europe.
Participants then received a comprehensive overview of the MAIA project, its objectives, and its mission to support regions and airports in navigating the transition toward more integrated, data-driven, and future-proof transport systems.
Presenting the MAIA results
A central part of the event was dedicated to the presentation of MAIA’s three main workstreams:
- MAIA-ENGINE (TML & Nommon) – An AI-powered modelling and simulation tool supporting future mobility planning.
- MAIA-CCAM (IRT) – Solutions to better integrate connected and automated mobility into airport access strategies.
- MAIA-UAM (FTTE) – A pathway for cities to prepare for Urban Air Mobility and ensure seamless integration into multimodal networks.
Each presentation highlighted key findings, methodologies, and real-world use cases, followed by an engaged Q&A session with the audience.
More detailed information on the MAIA tools and results is available here:
- MAIA-UAM: https://maiasesarproject.eu/maia-uam-prepared-cities-for-urban-air-mobility/
- MAIA-CCAM: https://maiasesarproject.eu/maia-ccam-supporting-connected-mobility/
- MAIA-ENGINE: https://maiasesarproject.eu/maia-engine-ai-powered-simulation-for-future-mobility/
Exploring the future
After a short coffee break, the event continued with a dynamic panel discussion on “Mobility innovations supporting airport integration into multimodal regional connectivity.”
Experts from cities, airports, industry, and research reflected on the opportunities and challenges of future mobility systems. Some key insights from the debate included:
- User acceptance for Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAVs) appears promising.
Based on research conducted at Terhills and elsewhere, SAVs are likely to be well received if they offer clear value to users. Utility emerged as the strongest driver of intention to use, underscoring the importance of reliable and meaningful services. - Urban Air Mobility raises more complex societal questions.
While passenger drones may face acceptance barriers, electric small aircraft represent a strong and more feasible opportunity, especially for connecting large hubs with regional airports, or even linking regional airports with each other. Initiatives such as droneport.eu are actively shaping this future. - Europe faces strategic choices in autonomous mobility.
A key open debate is whether Europe should scale rapidly using predominantly non-European technologies or prioritise technological sovereignty by developing fully European solutions. The latter supports independence but may slow down deployment and require substantial investment.
White Paper presentation
Before concluding, the project team presented the overall structure and current state of work of the White Paper “Mobility Innovations and Airport Access: Lessons Learnt from MAIA and Way Forward.”
The document brings together the project’s main findings and outlines the path forward for regions and airports aiming to embrace smarter, greener, and more connected mobility systems.
The above-mentioned White Paper is going to be finalised by the end of November 2025. Following this, it must go through an official review process by the funding authority SESAR Joint Undertaking. The whole text is going to be publicly available for all those interested in the MAIA website and will be further disseminated via the MAIA social media channels.
A successful closing to the MAIA journey
The MAIA Final Event successfully demonstrated how collaborative research, cutting-edge modelling tools, and cross-sector innovation can support the evolution of European transport systems. The high level of participation and active engagement throughout the morning underscored the relevance and urgency of improving airport–city connectivity in a multimodal and sustainable way.
The project team extends its warm thanks to all speakers, panellists, participants, and partners who contributed to the success of the event and the MAIA project as a whole.
Are you interested in immersing yourself in the event? Find the presentations and recording here:
MAIA-UAM: Prepared cities for urban air mobility
The MAIA project has produced MAIA-UAM, a framework that supports the integration of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) into European cities. With drones and air taxis expected to play an increasing role in logistics, emergency response, and passenger transport, this outcome provides tools to assess their impact on urban environments.
Built on the MAIA-Engine, MAIA-UAM models the environmental, social, and operational dimensions of UAM. It allows users to simulate scenarios such as parcel deliveries, emergency services, or passenger transport, and to analyse their consequences for citizens and infrastructure.
The framework addresses key challenges, including:
- Noise and visual pollution: evaluating how UAM services affect urban quality of life,
- Safety and resilience: assessing risks linked to operations in densely populated areas,
- Integration with ground transport: ensuring complementarity between air and land mobility,
- Public acceptance: supporting evidence-based approaches to UAM integration.
The exploratory studies described in Deliverable 3.2 (D3.2) Exploratory Research Report show how MAIA-UAM can provide actionable evidence for urban planners, regulators, and service providers. It ensures that the rollout of UAM services is aligned with sustainability goals and social expectations.
By providing a robust knowledge base, MAIA-UAM helps cities and policymakers prepare for the challenges and opportunities that UAM will bring in the coming years.
Discover more about the MAIA-UAM during the MAIA & MUSE joint final event in Barcelona.
MAIA-CCAM: Supporting connected mobility
The MAIA project has developed MAIA-CCAM, a simulation framework dedicated to Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM). This outcome explores how automated and connected vehicles interact with each other, with road infrastructure, and with wider transport networks, including air traffic.
MAIA-CCAM provides a virtual testing ground where the benefits, challenges, and risks of CCAM deployment can be thoroughly assessed. Key areas of focus include:
- Traffic flow and safety: analysing how connectivity and automation improve road safety and optimise traffic,
- Environmental performance: understanding how CCAM affects energy consumption and emissions,
- Multimodal integration: exploring synergies between CCAM and other modes of transport, including drones and aviation,
- Policy support: providing evidence to test and inform regulations before large-scale deployment.
Findings presented in Deliverable 3.2 (D3.2) Exploratory Research Report confirm that MAIA-CCAM is a valuable tool for assessing the impacts of CCAM on sustainability, efficiency, and resilience in Europe’s transport systems.
As Europe prepares for the introduction of automated vehicles, MAIA-CCAM offers data-driven insights to help cities, regions, and policymakers design mobility solutions that are effective, sustainable, and aligned with public needs.
Discover more about the MAIA-CCAM during the MAIA & MUSE joint final event in Barcelona.
MAIA-Engine: AI-powered simulation for future mobility
The MAIA project has developed the MAIA-Engine, a next-generation simulation environment that applies artificial intelligence and advanced modelling techniques to explore the future of transport and airspace operations.
The Engine supports decision-makers in assessing complex, interlinked systems where aviation, ground transport, and urban life interact. It brings together diverse datasets, such as air traffic, mobility flows, and environmental information, and transforms them into exploratory scenarios that show the potential consequences of deploying new mobility technologies.
Unlike traditional modelling approaches, the MAIA-Engine enables the comparison of multiple “what-if” scenarios, making it possible to identify trade-offs and synergies between efficiency, safety, sustainability, and societal acceptance.
The exploratory research presented in Deliverable 3.2 (D3.2) Exploratory Research Report demonstrates how the MAIA-Engine can:
- Evaluate deployment strategies for connected vehicles and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) services,
- Analyse the interaction of new technologies with existing infrastructure and regulations,
- Provide transparent, data-backed evidence to inform European policy and standards.
By making complexity visible and manageable, the MAIA-Engine contributes to SESAR’s ambition of building smarter, more sustainable, and citizen-focused aviation services.
Discover more about the MAIA-Engine during the MAIA & MUSE joint final event in Barcelona.
Final MAIA & MUSE joint event in Barcelona: Shaping the future of Airport Access and Urban Air Mobility
On 4 November 2025, the MAIA and MUSE projects will join forces for a full-day final event at Fira Barcelona (L’Hospitalet de Llobregat), presenting the results of three years of research funded by the SESAR Joint Undertaking under the Horizon Europe Programme. This event is organised as a side event to the Smart City Expo & Tomorrow Mobility World Congress.
The joint event will explore innovative solutions for airport access and sustainable urban air mobility, providing a unique platform for policymakers, researchers, industry experts, and stakeholders to exchange ideas and discuss the way forward.
The morning session (09:00–12:30 CET) will be dedicated to the MAIA project, which has developed tools and strategies to integrate airports more effectively into local and regional transport systems. The focus will be on overcoming airport access challenges, implementing smart and multimodal solutions, and reducing environmental impacts. The session will include:
- A presentation of MAIA’s results and key lessons learned
- A panel discussion on Mobility innovations supporting airports’ integration into multimodal regional connectivity
- The launch of the White Paper “Mobility Innovations and Airport Access: Lessons Learnt from MAIA and Way Forward”
Following a networking lunch (12:30–14:00), the afternoon session (14:00–17:30) will highlight the results of the MUSE project, which has assessed the social and environmental performance of urban air mobility services.
Why attend?
By joining this joint final event, participants will gain insights from both projects, learn from practical case studies, and contribute to shaping future research and policy in sustainable aviation and mobility.
Registration: MAIA & MUSE final events: Uncovering solutions for intelligent airport access and more sustainable urban air mobility | Polis Network
Contact: mcoyne@polisnetwork.eu
MAIA 2nd workshop – Discover the MAIA tools for multimodal passenger experience
Join the MAIA second stakeholder workshop on March 12 in Madrid to discover the 3 tools developed by the MAIA partners to enhance the experience of air passengers with multimodal transport innovations including autonomous shuttles and urban air mobility services!
Time: 10:00-16:00 CET
Location: IBERCENTER, Plaza Carlos Trias Bertran, 4, 28020, Madrid. (https://maps.app.goo.gl/k4tmHR6qafhi959m8) & Online
Making access to airports more sustainable
MAIA aims at improving airports’ accessibility and operational efficiency with the use of transport innovations, based on autonomous shuttles and electric vertical take off and landing aircrafts (eVTOLs). To this end, the project has developed three main tools to be exploited and further enhanced beyond the project lifetime: MAIA-ENGINE, MAIA-CCAM, and MAIA-UAM.
MAIA-ENGINE relies on a data inventory and algorithms to predict air passenger behaviour and to model airport access demand.
MAIA-CCAM uses a scenario-approach to develop algorithms supporting smart dispatching of a Shared Autonomous Vehicles fleet, able to mitigate disruptions.
MAIA-UAM also uses a scenario approach defined with external stakeholders to develop algorithms evaluating different potential locations for vertiport installation within airports.
MAIA-ENGINE has been used with aggregated data about passengers in the Madrid and Brussels airports, providing inputs for the development of both MAIA-CCAM and MAIA-UAM algorithms.
From paper to reality
In Madrid, MAIA-ENGINE has been used to define passenger profiles, exploiting mobile phone data to reconstruct trips to the airport. A prediction of demand for airport access services was done to identify which areas are more likely to generate trips with Shared Autonomous Vehicles. In this case study, vertiport locations are primarily concentrated in business zones within urban areas.
In Brussels, a passenger synthetic population was prepared based on survey data from the Brussels Airport to extract information on trips to the airport, enabling the modelling of demand for airport access services. However, data was lacking to obtain a prediction of airport access demand. Therefore, only theoretical inputs from MAIA-ENGINE were used to develop a basic fleet simulation within MAIA-CCAM, including disruption expectations. MAIA-UAM has used this input to define the best location of vertiports in cities near Brussels Airport, focusing on intercity connection rather than connections between the airport and the city center of Brussels exclusively.
The methodology followed in these developments and tests will be presented at the workshop, together with an overview of the results and how they can support the improvement of airport operations and accessibility, making it more efficient and reducing environmental impacts.
Join the discussion to understand how innovations and new technologies can improve air transport and multimodality. But most of all, join to have your say and contribute to shaping the future of transport.
We call on all interested stakeholders to participate in the MAIA tools’ improvement, including airports, airlines, passenger representatives, shuttle operators, autonomous vehicle operators, drone operators, vertiport operators, regions with an airport on their territory, and more. We need your feedback!
WORKSHOP AGENDA
Date: March 12, 2025 from 10:00 to 16:00 CET, incl. lunch break
Address: IBERCENTER, Pl. de Carlos Trías Bertrán, 4, Tetuán, 28020 Madrid, Spain
10:00 Introduction to the workshop
10:15 Presentation of the MAIA project and tools (MAIA-ENGINE, MAIA-CCAM, MAIA-UAM)
11:00 Presentation of the BRUSSELS use case and discussion of the relevance of and outcomes from each tool
12:30 Lunch Break
13:30 Presentation of the MADRID use case and discussion of the relevance of and outcomes from each tool
15:00 Conclusion of the workshop and plans for results exploitation beyond the project lifetime
16:00 End of workshop
How can mobility innovations support airports’ accessibility?
The first objective of the MAIA project was to identify the opportunities and risks associated with CCAM and UAM within a multimodal airport access context, with the objective of understanding the current situation and defining the high-level requirements for MAIA solutions.
The partners worked on three main tasks during WP2:
- Spatial Analysis: In this study, travel times for various transportation modes were used to investigate airport accessibility. Six airports in Europe were selected for this analysis. Travel heatmaps for driving and public transportation were generated for these airports using the Google Maps Distance Matrix.
- Desk Research: An extensive desk research covering both academic papers and industrial reports process was conducted to complement the spatial analysis.
- Stakeholder Engagement Process: The MAIA project included a two-round Delphi poll involving experts from the External Experts Advisory Board (EEAB) and the Stakeholder Group. Additionally, an in-person workshop was held to discuss the results.
The results from the analysis show that travel times are the key challenge for airport accessibility. Effective solutions should aim to reduce the number of transfers required to reach the airport and ensure travel time reliability. Passengers need assurance that they can reach the terminal in time for boarding.
Additionally, from a strategic airport perspective, it is crucial that any new access mode seeks to reduce GHG emissions (e.g., by complementing public transport rather than competing with it, thereby attracting trips from more polluting modes) and to minimize noise pollution.
The methodology and results of WP2 can be found in the D2.1 deliverable now available in our website: https://maiasesarproject.eu/resource/deliverable-d2-1/