The future of mobility is unfolding in California. Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and next-generation drones are redefining how people and goods move — promising faster, cleaner and more connected transportation.
California Airlink, based at the University of California Berkeley Space Center at NASA Ames Research Center, is preparing for this new paradigm of aviation. In partnership with federal and state agencies and the private sector, we are launching California’s first advanced air mobility (AAM) network.
With seven potential nodes already identified — including all CITRIS campuses, Moffett Field, Hollister and Marina — California Airlink will begin with test corridors that expand over time, enabling a wide range of operations and applications.
Our Mission
California Airlink is creating a hub for air transportation, technology and workforce training. Our goals are to:
- Develop safe low-altitude operations so eVTOL aircraft can operate alongside legacy aircraft, starting in the Bay Area.
- Test and demonstrate new aviation technologies with public and private partners.
- Bring together manufacturers, service providers and transportation hubs.
- Link air and ground transportation systems.
- Train the next generation of mobility leaders.
- Build governance models with local, state and federal agencies.
The effort will feature case studies that span campus services, medical and cargo transport, disaster response, and long-term economic development.
What Makes Us Different
California Airlink builds on UC’s strengths in research, teaching, workforce training, entrepreneurship and public service. Anchored by the Berkeley Space Center at NASA Ames — serving both as an R&D hub and a testbed — the program connects UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz (the four CITRIS campuses) through existing aerospace and drone programs that prepare students, researchers and communities for the future of flight.
The infrastructure is already in place: airports at UC Davis and UC Merced, a nearby airport for UC Santa Cruz, FAA-approved drone operations at UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station, and the Berkeley Space Center at Moffett Field. These facilities are supported by the UC system’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Safety program, which provides policies, approvals and oversight to ensure safe and compliant drone operations. Together with UC Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies, the California Jobs First program, and the four-campus Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS), California Airlink is positioned to grow into a statewide advanced air mobility network.
Where We Begin
California Airlink will begin by linking Richmond Field Station and NASA’s Moffett Field — two UC assets at the center of transportation research and aerospace innovation. This corridor will serve as a living lab for safe, reliable eVTOL operations, creating protocols for training, regulation and integration while delivering immediate benefits in health care, research and education.
This first step sets the stage for expansion across California, showing how academia, government and industry can co-create the future of mobility.
If you’d like to know more about California Airlink, please contact Alexandre Bayen, director of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute. For sponsorship opportunities or to join the Aviation Consortium, please contact Julie Maigret Shapiro, CITRIS director of corporate relations.