A Systematic Review of Urban Air Mobility: Technologies, Challenges, and Future Directions

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) represents a transformative vision for metropolitan transportation, leveraging electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft to offer rapid, on-demand mobility while addressing urban congestion and emissions. Despite a rapidly expanding body of research, a comprehensive synthesis that maps evidence across technological, operational, regulatory, and societal dimensions remains absent. This systematic review therefore aims to critically synthesize the existing evidence, evaluate the reported effectiveness of proposed solutions, and identify critical research gaps that hinder translation into policy and practice. We conducted the review following the PRISMA guidelines, employing a comprehensive search across multiple databases and a structured keyword strategy derived from the SPICE framework. Studies were included if they presented original research, systematic reviews, or well-documented case studies addressing at least one core UAM aspect, with full text in English. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts, then assessed full texts, resolving disagreements through consensus. The synthesis reveals a fragmented landscape dominated by simulation-based optimization models for vertiport location, fleet sizing, and route planning, alongside stated-preference studies on public acceptance that highlight safety and noise concerns. A recurring theme is the interdependence of technological, operational, and societal factors, suggesting that successful UAM implementation requires a holistic, system-of-systems approach. We conclude that primary barriers are not solely technological but deeply intertwined with regulatory and societal challenges, and we identify a notable gap in empirical data on real-world operational performance and long-term sustainability. Future research must move toward integrated, multi-stakeholder frameworks to guide responsible scaling from niche applications to mainstream urban transportation.