Actually, there is something more that has come out of the Alaska Capstone Program (GPS/Synthetic Vision Integration). The Air-Taxis are flying what I call ‘Low Level IFR’. That’s an easy way to explain to the concerned passengers when entering clouds with very big mountains all around. Also, WAAS provided Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance (LPV) gives the pilot a lower decision height on their approach.
Each company has their routes pre-approved by the FAA and the minimum altitudes are established. Some of these routes have minimum enroute altitudes below 3,000 feet MSL. These lower altitudes allow for better enroute icing avoidance. When operating conventional IFR in short distances (say, less than 100 miles), performing high rate ascending and descending maneuvers to established MEA is not efficient nor safe in many congested environments.
This technology is a much safer way to fly around cities in the fog without ‘ANY’ “scud running”. I see the future of UAVs and VTOLs requiring this technology with a 5G internet connection integration. Don’t have the slightest idea why journalist don’t want to report on this actual in use technology instead of the EVTOL unicorns, especially since this is so required for the unicorn’s existence. It will definitely answer many air traffic questions that have come up regularly in the comments.