Archer Aviation and ITA Airways have signed an agreement to explore an electric air-taxi network in Italy using Archer’s Midnight aircraft. The partners are considering potential services in major cities, linking airports with city centres and other destinations. Archer estimates that a journey from Rome Fiumicino airport to central Rome, which can take about an hour by road, could take less than 10 minutes by air; no route or operating schedule has been confirmed.
ITA Airways would focus on linking any future service with its airline network and developing an integrated passenger journey. Specialist partners are expected to operate the aircraft, but no operator has been named. ITA is the first European airline to join Archer’s global airline-partner network.
The agreement remains exploratory and is conditional on future definitive agreements and other conditions. The partners have not provided a launch date or aircraft numbers.
Archer has cited recent piloted flights of its Midnight aircraft in the San Francisco Bay Area, including journeys between Oakland and San Francisco’s Marina District that took about 10 minutes. The company’s stated aim is to replace road journeys of 60 to 90 minutes with electric flights of 10 to 20 minutes. Those figures describe Archer’s target and do not establish performance or travel times for a future Italian service.