<p>Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.</p>
<p>Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.</p>


Managing Editor

<p><span><span><span lang="EN-CA">The potential for new advanced air mobility (AAM) services to transform public transportation networks in Asia was the focus of last week’s Global Urban &amp; Advanced Air Summit in Singapore. Top of the first day’s agenda was a presentation by Hui Ling Teo, a partner at the Singapore branch of Reed Smith law firm, underscoring the critical need for what she described as climate-resilient infrastructure in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). </span><span lang="EN-CA">The group consists of 10 countries across Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span lang="EN-CA">“The AAM [advanced air mobility] sector is a really pivotal and important sector for the entire transportation and infrastructure industries because it is a unique moment where we are able to redesign what a circular economy means and what sustainable infrastructure will look like. When you combine these two themes, infrastructure, and sustainability, you then come to realize that there are opportunities that you wouldn’t have normally seen if you look at them separately.”</span></span></span></p>
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            <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">EHang has prospective customers for its EH216 eVTOL vehicle in Indonesia. (Image: EHang)</div>
      
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<figcaption>EHang has prospective customers for its EH216 eVTOL vehicle in Indonesia. (Image: EHang)</figcaption>
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<p><span><span><span lang="EN-CA">Speaking to <strong>AIN</strong>, Teo explained that addressing climate change is key to the successful development and integration of air mobility solutions into urban environments. Despite this, there is a growing movement within the industry to distance itself from sustainability amid concerns over greenwashing and litigation risks. </span><span lang="EN-CA">“AAM has been focused on applications for urban mobility, but we need to think broader than that, including infrastructure and the needs of ASEAN infrastructure, she said. “Climate change will be affecting and damaging physical assets, the built environment, and infrastructure. Technological advancements and digital solutions developed for the&nbsp;AAM industry&nbsp;are&nbsp;well positioned to&nbsp;support preventive and adaptive measures in maintaining and further developing infrastructure in ASEAN, much like helicopters but in a more cost-effective and sustainable way.”</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span lang="EN-CA">Teo’s comments on September 26 were made against a backdrop of mounting concern in the region about climate change dangers to the region's population. A day earlier,&nbsp;</span></span></span><span><span><span lang="EN-CA">a day after a <span>6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Balut Island in the Philippines. On September 12, </span>a magnitude-6.3 earthquake occurred in the&nbsp;Luzon Strait</span>&nbsp;<span lang="EN-CA">near the Babuyan Islands. So far, the country has registered 40 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.0 during the month of&nbsp;September, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-CA"><span><span>Reed Smith focuses on transportation and sustainability and has access to different investment channels, such as venture capital, private equity, private credit, traditional banks, and neobanks. According to Teo, “That confluence of capability is exactly what the AAM sector requires. There are real needs that occur in the world; our firm factors in climate change in AAM and has been delivering legal counsel and expertise within the realm of uncrewed aircraft systems and eVTOL vehicles since 2015.”</span></span></span><br><br>
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Charles Alcock

Hui Ling Teo, a partner at the Singapore branch of Reed Smith law firm, addresses the Global Urban & Advanced Air Summit. (Image: Global Urban & Advanced Air Summit)

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