Archer Aviation says it hopes to get Abu Dhabi's first flying taxis in the air this year, viewing the technology-obsessed Gulf as the launch pad to show the rest of the world how it is done.
Founder Adam Goldstein told The National the company is “ready to launch” in 2025. The ambitious time frame is based on using the capital's existing helicopter flight paths and air traffic control rather than building a system from scratch.
“We've made great partners with Etihad Aviation Training, all the partners across the entire ecosystem. So, the goal is to really start flying aircraft in Abu Dhabi this year. That's incredibly exciting,” Mr Goldstein told The National at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month.
Archer is backed by car giant Stellantis and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala. It is collaborating with organisations in the UAE, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (Adio), Abu Dhabi Airports, Falcon Aviation Services, Etihad Aviation Training and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to try and get the first commercially viable electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles off the ground. In Dubai, Joby Aviation, backed by Toyota, is the first operator of flying taxis, with a 2026 launch date.
Mr Goldstein says the first of Archer’s electric aircraft, the Midnight, designed to carry up to four passengers and a pilot with a range of 160km, can be in the skies of Abu Dhabi this year.
“We'll start at really low levels where there's already existing routes, existing air traffic control. And the reason is because helicopters fly every day,” he said.
“We've partnered with the large helicopter companies in Abu Dhabi and we'll largely follow a lot of the same patterns. We'll start small and we'll give plenty of time for the entire ecosystem to evolve with us.”
We'll start small and we'll give plenty of time for the entire ecosystem to evolve with us
Adam Goldstein,
Archer Aviation
Early operations are expected to be from Abu Dhabi airport to the city centre, which is about 30 minutes by car but six or seven minutes in a Midnight eVTOL travelling up to 260 kph. The company says its long-term goal is to replace 60 to 90-minute trips by car with 10 to 20-minute electric air taxis.
Mr Goldstein puts the pricing around the Uber Black range. So passengers could pay about Dh350 ($95) for a flight from Zayed International Airport to Emirates Palace, the luxury hotel on the Corniche.
“These are not just toys for the rich. These are vehicles that are accessible and these are vehicles that are much quieter,” he said.
It is expected there will be just a handful in the air at any time during the early days.
“I think the visions of highways in the sky will come one day, but those might be a few years down the road,” Mr Goldstein said.
Archer is awaiting regulatory approval from Abu Dhabi's authorities. The industry at large has been working towards the point at which the sums add up. Archer and Joby Aviation have drawn in billions of dollars in investment and their share prices surge on the expectation of a launch soon.
“We're at this really interesting point in the industry's life cycle, where you've seen a lot of the key emerging technologies, like battery technology, get to this point – so you can now fly vehicles that make economic sense,” he said.
“At the same time, a lot of the regulation has come into a spot that's been formalised – and Archer has spent a lot of time going through that process to prove that these vehicles are safe.
“As that process has matured, we're now at the stage we're ready to launch. Abu Dhabi has been a great partner to Archer, really for a long time.”
Mr Goldstein says decision-makers in the Emirates and the broader Gulf are ahead when it comes to vision.
“We are acting as a big advertising campaign to the entire GCC. We have incredible new technologies, you have a region that's emerging, and there's an opportunity to launch them in the broader GCC,” he said.
When asked about safety, Mr Goldstein said aerial vehicles have a far stronger record than motor vehicles.
“This is a technology that's been worked on for a very long time. There's been a lot of flight testing that's gone into it, and there will continue to be a lot more flight testing that goes into it,” he said.
The Midnight is flown by a pilot but he envisages no need for human involvement, with many systems on board already automated. Archer has recently signed a $140 million deal with the US Department of Defence to look at how eVTOLs could be used in operations. It delivered the first Midnight aircraft to the US Air Force in August 2024.
Neither Archer nor the US government has said if they see the aircraft being used in warfare, but Mr Goldstein gave an example of their use in rescue missions.
“If you think about areas where there is contested space and you had to go rescue, let's say, soldiers, you might not want to fly in an unmanned vehicle,” he said.
“But you could fly in an unmanned vehicle. And if those vehicles were also substantially lower cost, you're not risking expensive assets or people. There are opportunities here to build new vehicles that will be autonomous, that I think the world will benefit from.”
Video: Dubai airport chief on city's flying taxi network
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
More on Quran memorisation:
The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The five pillars of Islam
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
The years Ramadan fell in May
Prophets of Rage
(Fantasy Records)
All Blacks line-up for third Test
J Barrett; I Dagg, A Lienert-Brown, N Laumape, J Savea; B Barrett, A Smith; J Moody, C Taylor, O Franks, B Retallick, S Whitelock, J Kaino, S Cane, K Read (capt).
Replacements: N Harris, W Crockett, C Faumuina, S Barrett, A Savea, TJ Perenara, A Cruden, M Fekitoa.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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