Archer Aviation and ITA Airways have agreed to explore an electric air taxi network in Italy using Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft. The proposed service could connect major cities, including Rome Fiumicino Airport with central Rome. Archer estimates that the airport-to-city flight could take less than 10 minutes, compared with about an hour by road. No routes, launch date, aircraft numbers or operating partners have been confirmed.
The agreement focuses on assessing how air taxis could link airports, city centres and other destinations, and how the service might connect with ITA Airways’ airline network to create an integrated passenger journey. Specialist partners would operate the aircraft, but the companies have not identified them. The arrangement remains subject to definitive agreements and certain conditions.
ITA is the first European airline to join Archer’s global airline-partner network. Midnight is designed for rapid back-to-back flights, with Archer targeting journeys of 10 to 20 minutes that could take 60 to 90 minutes by car. The companies cited recent piloted flights in the San Francisco Bay Area as background to the Italian market exploration; those flights do not establish a timetable or operating plan for Italy.