Innovative Air Mobility (IAM) is creating new opportunities in areas such as healthcare, logistics, infrastructure inspection, and emergency response. However, moving from successful demonstrations to real-world deployment requires more than technology. It also requires viable business models, stakeholder collaboration, and a clear understanding of societal needs and expectations.
To explore these challenges, Future Needs organised the workshop “Co-Creating Pathways for Socially Grounded IAM in European Cities” as part of Airspace World 2026 in Lisbon. Bringing together representatives from industry, research, and public authorities, the workshop examined both the commercial potential of drone services and the stakeholder ecosystems needed to support their adoption.
The perspectives shared during the workshop will directly help shape Future Needs’ ongoing work in the IAM field. They will inform IAM-CC, a recently funded Horizon Europe project where Future Needs is establishing an IAM Competence Centre and leading work on societal readiness for IAM. They will also contribute to SME-RISE, an Erasmus+ project in which Future Needs is developing a learning platform to support capacity building and entrepreneurship in the drone sector.
The preliminary findings from the workshop are presented below.
The first session invited participants to adopt the role of mentors guiding young entrepreneurs entering the drone services market. The objective was to identify both saturated market segments and emerging opportunities with strong commercial potential.
Which drone services are becoming less attractive?
A desk research-based presentation identified five categories of currently congested drone service segments in Europe:
- Aerial photography and marketing
- Ad-hoc inspections
- Consumer drone rental
- Training services
- Commodity survey and mapping services typically delivered as one-off projects
Participants broadly confirmed these market trends, noting that low barriers to entry have increased competition and reduced profit margins in many of these areas. An exception was raised around training, where publicly funded requalification programmes were identified as a potentially profitable niche.
Overall, there was strong consensus regarding which services currently represent the least attractive commercial opportunities.
Where are the growth opportunities?
The discussion then shifted to services offering stronger or growing profit potential.
Software development emerged as a standout opportunity, alongside specialised services such as SORA assessments and data visualisation. Drone delivery in the food and commercial sectors was also recognised as promising, although participants noted that success depends on securing operational authorisations and effectively engaging with stakeholders.
Based on prior market research, the following categories were presented as the most commercially promising drone services:
- Critical infrastructure inspection (wind turbines, power lines, oil & gas)
- Medical logistics (blood, vaccines, medicines)
- Precision agriculture
- Public safety and emergency response (wildfires, law enforcement), though some participants questioned the commercial viability of this segment
- Drone-enabled digital twin services for asset monitoring
From these, participants collectively identified medical logistics and critical infrastructure inspection as the strongest near-term opportunities. Participants were then divided into two working groups to assess the business cases, opportunities, and risks associated with each.
| Sector | Opportunities | Risks |
|---|---|---|
| Critical Infrastructure Inspection | • Significant risk reduction and potential for life-saving outcomes at lower cost than current manual methods • Automation of end-to-end inspection workflows, including AI-enabled data collection and processing | • Regulatory fragmentation, particularly the limited availability of BVLOS approvals • Operational hazards, including collisions with third-party property and drone loss/flyaway incidents • Long development cycles driven by evolving sensor and software requirements • Shortage of qualified pilots and engineers |
| Medical Logistics | • Strong service case for rural, remote, and coastal communities with limited healthcare access • Applicability to time-critical deliveries such as organ transportation • Natural flight corridors (e.g., rivers and lakes) that are comparatively easier to permit, with reduced exposure to populated areas and potentially lower insurance costs • High public acceptance and potential for tailored, ad hoc delivery models | • Regulatory uncertainty on the procurement side, as public authorities often lack expertise to design appropriate tenders • Institutional risk aversion, with many authorities unwilling to be the first to manage a high-profile incident (e.g., a drone crash) • Consequences of failed deliveries, including loss of samples or time-sensitive medical supplies • Challenges in accessing and partnering with healthcare entities |
The second session focused on the stakeholder ecosystems required to support Innovative Air Mobility deployment at the city level. Participants from four European cities (Prague, Lisbon, Helsinki, and Luxembourg) and three non-European cities (Toronto, Tampa, and Edmonton) were invited to map the IAM ecosystem within their respective cities, using either an e-commerce logistics or healthcare logistics drone use case as their frame of reference.
To do this, participants completed two exercises:
- Stakeholder Mapping: Participants identified specific organizations, departments, and bodies involved in their chosen use case and assigned each to a predefined stakeholder category.
- Problem-Centred Stakeholder Analysis: Participants formulated a drone-related problem relevant to their context and assessed the degree of stakeholder involvement in the associated decision-making process.
Stakeholder Mapping Results
E-Commerce Logistics
Stakeholders identified across this use case included logistics and parcel delivery operators (DHL, DPD, Amazon), consumer electronics retailers (e.g., Alza CZ), chambers of commerce, airports, and civil aviation authorities (CAAs), among others.
Healthcare Logistics
The healthcare logistics use case generated a broader and more diverse stakeholder landscape, reflecting the sector’s complexity and the need for coordination across multiple actors. Identified stakeholders included patients, hospitals, clinical staff (doctors, nurses, and technicians), bystanders and the general public, insurance companies, connectivity and links (C-links) providers, HAZMAT authorities, city aviation departments, and airspace awareness service providers, among others.
“It was a pleasure participating in the workshop and contributing to the discussions on societal readiness for IAM. I found the session particularly valuable for bringing together different perspectives from across the ecosystem and for highlighting the importance of public acceptance and stakeholder engagement alongside technological development.”
The workshop findings align closely with a broader trend emerging in Horizon Europe. Through the introduction of the Societal Readiness Pilot, the European Commission is placing greater emphasis on ensuring that research and innovation activities are responsive to societal needs, concerns, and expectations through stakeholder engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and co-creation.
- Example from the Mobility sector: (HORIZON-CL5-2027-06-D6-08) Enhancing Mobility for All: Affordable, Reliable and Accessible Multimodal Transport for Inclusive Rural and Urban Connectivity – Societal Readiness Pilot. Deadline: 7 October 2027.
Requires: an interdisciplinary approach that deepens consideration of societal needs and concerns, actively involving stakeholders and end users in the development of inclusive mobility solutions.
- Example from the Industrial Decarbonisation sector: (HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-32) Delivery of Industrial CCUS Clusters – Societal Readiness Pilot. Deadline: 1 December 2027.
Requires: understanding and addressing the needs, concerns, and expectations of affected stakeholder groups to support societal uptake and responsible deployment of innovative solutions.
- Example from the Mobility sector: (HORIZON-CL5-2026-10-D6-02) Geopolitical Competition and Socioeconomic Resilience in CCAM: An Innovation and Policy Roadmap for EU Leadership (CCAM Partnership). Deadline: 8 October 2026.
Requires: assessing socioeconomic impacts, supporting policy development, and engaging multiple stakeholders to ensure that future mobility systems are resilient, inclusive, and responsive to societal needs.
At Future Needs, we help organisations design and deliver stakeholder engagement, co-creation, and human-centred research activities that strengthen project impact and support successful adoption. If your next proposal includes requirements related to societal readiness, stakeholder engagement, or co-creation, we’d be happy to discuss how we can support you.
Get in touch to start the conversation: proposals@futureneeds.eu
Sofia Iosifidou
Innovation Researcher at Future Needs, holding an Engineering Doctorate in Process & Product Design. She focuses on R&D and techno-economic analysis, contributing to sustainable and environmentally driven projects, with a particular interest in energy transition and low-carbon solutions
Egle Joneliunaite
Communication and Dissemination Manager with 10+ years of experience in strategic communication, digital marketing, and stakeholder engagement. Her experience spans a diverse range of sectors, including aviation, construction, healthcare, and sustainability, where she has supported research and innovation projects in enhancing their visibility, engaging stakeholders, and building active communities.
