17 ICAO Asia-Pacific Civil Aviation Authorities Jointly Release Unified AAM Low-Altitude Regulatory Reference Handbook
17 ICAO Asia-Pacific Civil Aviation Authorities Jointly Release Unified AAM Low-Altitude Regulatory Reference Handbook
Author: Backhaus International Low-Altitude Economy Cooperation NetworkAt the end of 2025, civil aviation regulators from 17 Asia-Pacific member states under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) jointly released the Unified Reference Handbook for Asia-Pacific Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Regulation in Manila. The document unifies baseline regulatory rules covering test flights, commercial operations and operator qualification for passenger eVTOLs, cargo UAVs and low-altitude autonomous flight vehicles across the region, establishing a unified governance framework for coordinated development of the Asia-Pacific low-altitude economy. The Civil Aviation Department of Hong Kong, China served as a core drafting body, contributing practical urban low-altitude commercialization governance solutions. Tailored to the Asia-Pacific region’s diverse geographic landscapes including archipelagos, megacities and mountainous terrain, the handbook formulates differentiated detailed low-altitude airspace control provisions while standardizing three core technical thresholds: aircraft battery safety, low-altitude noise limits and beyond visual line-of-sight flight approval, generating standardized regulatory benchmarks directly adoptable by all regional nations. A yearly Asia-Pacific low-altitude regulatory consultation mechanism has been established by the 17 signatory authorities to synchronize annual handbook updates, share aircraft safety flight test data and post-incident review reports for low-altitude operations, gradually advancing mutual recognition of national airworthiness certificates and simplifying cross-border circulation procedures for low-altitude equipment within the Asia-Pacific zone. Dedicated small and medium enterprise support clauses are embedded in the handbook to lower entry barriers for regional low-altitude startups conducting cross-border test flights and commercial operations, encouraging joint demonstration projects on cross-border low-altitude logistics, aerial sightseeing and emergency rescue involving enterprises from China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. The Asia-Pacific represents the world’s fastest-growing low-altitude economy region, with robust two-way supply and demand for low-altitude equipment production and market demand between China, ASEAN, Japan and South Korea. However, longstanding discrepancies in national regulatory rules have restricted cross-border industrial circulation within the region. The Backhaus International Low-Altitude Economy Cooperation Network concludes the joint ICAO Asia-Pacific regulatory handbook fills the void of unified low-altitude standards across the Asia-Pacific, balancing industrial development demands from both advanced and developing economies and forming an Asia-specific low-altitude governance model distinct from European and American frameworks. It dismantles institutional barriers for cross-border low-altitude industrial collaboration across the Asia-Pacific, fostering two major coordinated development blocs for the global low-altitude economy spanning the East and West and delivering a new inclusive, balanced cooperation paradigm for cross-regional low-altitude regulatory alignment worldwide.
