- ITA Airways and Archer Aviation plan to explore electric air taxi services.
- The plan covers links between Italian airports and city centres.
- Archer’s Midnight aircraft carries four passengers and a pilot.
- A Rome Fiumicino to city centre flight could take under 10 minutes.
- Certification and launch dates remain unresolved.
ITA Airways and Archer Aviation have revealed plans to develop electric air taxi links between Italian airports and city centres. ITA becomes the first European carrier to join Archer’s partner network. The agreement covers potential services in major Italian cities.
Archer’s Midnight aircraft can take off and land vertically and carries up to four passengers and a pilot. Archer estimates a flight from Rome Fiumicino to the city centre would take less than 10 minutes. The Leonardo Express rail service takes about 32 minutes to Roma Termini.
Archer’s aircraft have not been certified to carry passengers. Certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency is required before services can operate in the EU. The companies have not named the operator or announced when Italian passenger flights would begin.
Adam Goldstein shared “Every one of those travelers deserves the option to skip an hour in traffic with a 10-minute, all-electric flight.”
Joerg Eberhart shared “This agreement with Archer represents an important step in assessing how electric air taxi services could complement our network and enhance connections between airports, city centers and other strategic destinations.”
