US urban air mobility designer Varon Vehicles has signed an MoU with Colombia/Israel-based privation aviation platform Flapz to collaborate in promoting access to its UAM services. Varon Vehicles is developing vertiports for low altitude flights across Latin America, where there is a lack of proper mobility infrastructure that hampers many aspects of economic development. Flapz connects passengers with regional certified operators through ‘nearly-live’ marketplace bookings. The company will serve as an active marketplace in Latin America for Varon’s network, offering seats for initial flights and leading the overall commercialisation process from the start of operations.

“Our company will be providing transportation services in diverse markets such as logistics, medical and government,” says Varon Vehicles CEO and founder Felipe Varon. “We're directing our attention first to the tourism market, which offers tremendous potential in Latin America and for which we have the technologies and aircraft available to start our first operations. Our collaboration with Flapz is an exciting next step in our outreach to customers as we implement our services in Colombia.”

“The way we move is changing,” adds Flapz co-founder and CEO Ionatan Galeano. “Technology has given us the opportunity to completely improve how the transportation infrastructure is embedded in our cities, and this is fascinating. Being able to work with Varon Vehicles to disrupt how entire communities connect, with Flapz serving as a one-stop marketplace to access the world of urban air mobility, will be one of our main objectives in moving forward on our quest to transform private aviation in Latin America.”

The partners are focused on establishing a ‘15 minute city' concept in the Latin American political, social and economic agenda, and seeks to revolutionise how communities socialise while improving their quality of life, fostering socio-economic development. The companies believe it has the potential to redefine how urban planning is executed in the region.