Whitesky targets becoming Indonesia's largest eVTOL operator
National private company PT Whitesky Aviation Group has affirmed its readiness to strengthen its position as one of the largest and foremost electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) operators in Indonesia.
Whitesky Group Founder Denon Prawiraatmadja said in Tangerang on Friday that as a form of commitment, Whitesky is expanding its Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) business through the development of up to 200 eVTOL units by 2036.
“The pipeline consists of 120 units from China, 30 units from Japan and 50 units from Indonesia, which will be developed gradually in line with the readiness of technology, regulation, infrastructure and the growth of the advanced air mobility market in Indonesia,” he explained.
He said the development of 200 eVTOLs is part of the company’s long-term strategy to build operational scale while strengthening Whitesky’s capabilities in the new generation air mobility industry.
“Our target is not just to build a large fleet. We want to build complete operating capability, from aircraft, infrastructure, maintenance, safety, human capital to market,” he said.
Denon noted that the fleet development is being prepared to support various mobility needs, ranging from airport connectivity, urban mobility, business aviation, industrial estates, tourism to inter-regional and inter-island connectivity.
According to him, Indonesia’s geographical character provides great opportunities for eVTOL development because connectivity needs are not only concentrated in large cities, but spread across various economic centres, industrial estates and strategic destinations.
In addition, the company also sees that the scale of developing 200 eVTOLs will provide a foundation for building a broader operational network. The company is preparing a number of supporting components such as vertiports, charging infrastructure, maintenance capability, training, safety systems and aviation human resource development.
This strategy positions Whitesky not only as a user of eVTOL technology, but as an operator that builds operational capability and an integrated ecosystem.
“Becoming a leading operator is not just about having the most aircraft. What matters is whether we have the capability to operate, maintain, develop networks and provide safe and reliable service to customers,” he said.
In this regard, Whitesky Group is holding Urban Air Mobility through the HEXIA-Road to Zero Carbon Helicopters series as one of the centres for developing the urban air mobility ecosystem.
Through HEXIA, operators, technology manufacturers, regulators, investors, academics and prospective users can be brought together to accelerate market readiness while opening space for collaboration in the development of AAM in Indonesia and the Southeast Asian region.
“In the next 10 years, we want Whitesky to be known not only as an aviation operator, but as one of the leading Advanced Air Mobility operators from Indonesia that has competitive scale, capability and ecosystem at the regional level,” he said.