Flying taxis are expected to hit Abu Dhabi and Dubai skies as early as 2025, a year earlier than projected, the chief executive of US company Archer Aviation has said.
The use of eVTOL – electric vertical take-off and landing – aircraft has the potential to cut travel times significantly between the two emirates, Adam Goldstein said at the Investopia conference in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
California-based Archer first teamed up with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office in October, with plans at that time to start all-electric air taxi operations in the Emirates in 2026.
"As early as 2025 and as late as 2026, you will see eVTOLs flying around Abu Dhabi [and] Dubai ... trips that used to take 60 to 90 minutes on the ground, we can fly you in 10 minutes," he said.
In another example, a normal trip from downtown Manhattan to New Jersey's Newark Airport would take only nine minutes in an eVTOL compared to more than an hour by road, according to Archer's website.
"It will make everybody's lives better, will be very safe and very enjoyable experience and will be the start of an aviation revolution," Mr Goldstein said.
He did not explicitly say these flying cars will be the Midnight eVTOL the company is developing. An eVTOL is a variety of a VTOL aircraft that hovers, takes off and lands vertically using electric power.
The first Midnight eVTOLs will be piloted, which would be "the best way to actually get through the adoption period", considering "millions" would be interested in riding these next-generation vehicles, Mr Goldstein said.
The Midnight aircraft can carry up to four passengers – plus the pilot – and can fly up to 161km at a speed of up to 241kph.
Being positioned by Archer as a potential replacement for helicopters, "eVTOLs have tremendous benefits that go beyond being sustainable", including being quiet and "very, very safe, [having] redundancies all over the vehicle so no single points of failure", he said.
"And because they're electric, they can be scaled at very high rates and can be flown a lot, driving the total overall cost down."
Integrating autonomous capabilities, the industry's cornerstone technology that is being positioned to ultimately result in pilot-less eVTOLs, will be "the path to scaling [operations and adoption]" of these aircraft, he said.
The UAE has sought to become a leader in smart transport systems as part of its efforts to promote and integrate sustainability.
This month, Dubai firmed up its plans to introduce flying taxis to the emirate by 2026, with agreements signed on Sunday with Joby Aviation and Skyports Infrastructure.
However, while it has been agreed operations will start by early 2026, California-based Joby is targeting initial operations as early as 2025.
Another California VTOL maker, Odys Aviation, this month said it expected VTOLs in GCC skies by 2028.
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The five pillars of Islam
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 0
Stoke City 0
Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)
Alita: Battle Angel
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Stars: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Keean Johnson
Four stars
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
