Archer sets eVTOL sights on Abu Dhabi

60–90-minute car commutes to be replaced by 10-20 minute electric air taxi flights
By Adam Hill October 20, 2023 Read time: 2 mins
Archer's Midnight eVTOL aircraft (image: Archer Aviation)

Urban air mobility specialist Archer Aviation plans to start air taxi operations in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in 2026. 

The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft provider will work with Abu Dhabi Investment Office (Adio), which aims to allow Archer to establish an HQ in Abu Dhabi's Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industry (SAVI) Cluster.

Archer says it wants to replace 60–90-minute commutes by car with estimated 10-20 minute electric air taxi flights which will be, it suggests, "cost-competitive with ground transportation". 

The company will also work with Falcon Aviation (which will operate its air taxis across Dubai and Abu Dhabi) as well as GAL-AMMROC (supplying repair and maintenance work with aircraft) and says it plans to announce further tie-ups when it showcases its Midnight aircraft at the Dubai Air Show from 13-17 November. Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft "designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights".

Badr Al-Olama, acting director general of Adio, says: "Bringing electric aviation to the UAE will help unlock congestion with zero emissions and, in turn, bring millions in foreign direct investment and thousands of jobs to the region over the next decade.”

Archer has raised $1.1 billion of funding so far, including investments from Mubadala Capital, United Airlines, its manufacturing partner Stellantis and Boeing.

“Archer plans to partner closely with Adio and the Department of Economic Development to bring manufacturing and operations for our air taxis to the region," says Archer's founder and CEO, Adam Goldstein. "Together, we are positioned to be a driving force in making all-electric air taxis a reality in the skies of the UAE and beyond in the coming years.”

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares says the company will work to establish a manufacturing facility for Midnight in the Middle East, "where we see extraordinary potential for urban air mobility".

Air Quality & Weather Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Sampo Hietanen’s mobility mission
    June 17, 2016
    For a decade Sampo Hietanen harboured a vision of an alternative form of mobility, now as CEO of MaaS Finland he is putting theory into practice. Sampo Hietanen has become the embodiment of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) – a concept he created 10 years ago while working for Finnish civil engineering giant Destia. “I had been working with the mobile sector on traffic information and started thinking what will happen when this becomes bigger,” he says.
    Read More
  • StreetLight Data maps future
    February 20, 2019
    Laura Schewel of StreetLight Data talks to Adam Hill about the importance of measuring what you do – and about how paint will remain perhaps the most important piece of technology in the city planners’ armoury for a decade to come Transportation is dangerous, responsible for 30% of global cargo emissions today. Some experts believe that it will be responsible for 80% by 2050. And that’s before you even get on to the safety question - just ask tech entrepreneur Laura Schewel. “Transportation is getting wo
    Read More
  • AEM voices GPS concern
    May 16, 2012
    The US-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has joined a variety of industries and companies in forming the Coalition to Save Our GPS. This group aims to resolve a serious threat to the Global Positioning System (GPS). The threat stems from a recent highly unusual decision by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant a conditional waiver allowing the dramatic expansion of terrestrial use of the satellite spectrum immediately neighbouring that of GPS. There is a risk it could pote
    Read More
  • AEM voices GPS concern
    May 16, 2012
    The US-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has joined a variety of industries and companies in forming the Coalition to Save Our GPS. This group aims to resolve a serious threat to the Global Positioning System (GPS). The threat stems from a recent highly unusual decision by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant a conditional waiver allowing the dramatic expansion of terrestrial use of the satellite spectrum immediately neighbouring that of GPS. There is a risk it could pote
    Read More

Highlighted Content