ROME, 2 November 2026: Archer Aviation and ITA Airways have signed an agreement to partner on an all-electric air taxi network in Italy.
ITA Airways is Italy’s flag carrier and serves more than 70 destinations worldwide as part of the Star Alliance network.
Listed on the New Your Stock Exchange, Archer’s Midnight aircraft under the partnership agreement will deploy air taxi services in major cities across Italy.
Designed for rapid, back-to-back flights with zero operating emissions, Archer’s Midnight aircraft aims to transform urban travel by replacing 60 to 90-minute drives with quiet, all-electric flights of 10 to 20 minutes. For example, an hour-long trip on the ground from Fiumicino Airport to Rome’s city centre could take less than 10 minutes with the Midnight aircraft.
Midnight recently showcased its ability to operate seamlessly in complex urban airspace, completing several days of piloted flights in the Bay Area, which included multiple flights from Oakland to San Francisco’s Marina District in roughly 10 minutes.
“ITA Airways aims to play a pioneering role in advanced air mobility, exploring innovative solutions and collaborations that can strengthen connectivity and deliver tangible benefits for passengers,” said ITA Airways Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Joerg Eberhart.
“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 centres and other strategic destinations. As part of this process, we are exploring different solutions to identify the best possible product for our customers.”
Founder and CEO of Archer, Adam Goldstein, said: “Rome Fiumicino crossed 50 million passengers last year for the first time in its history. Every one of those travellers deserves the option to skip an hour in traffic with a 10-minute, all-electric flight. Italy has the regulatory leadership, the infrastructure, and now the airline partner to make air taxis a reality, and I’m proud to be taking this step with ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group to bring the future of electric aviation to Europe”.
ITA Airways aims to act as a catalyst for innovation across Italy’s advanced air mobility ecosystem, bringing together relevant expertise and stakeholders and helping create the conditions for new solutions to complement existing transport options and improve airport and urban connectivity. Its contribution will focus on enabling an integrated customer journey and connecting the new service with its network, working alongside the specialised partners responsible for its operation. The partners will explore a range of solutions to deliver the best possible product for customers.
With today’s agreement, ITA Airways becomes the first European carrier to join Archer’s global network of airline partners, extending its commercialisation strategy already underway in the US, UAE, and beyond.
Archer’s commercial flagship electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Midnight, has been conducting both uncrewed and piloted flight test programmes.
FAA Certification Status: Archer is progressing through the final phases of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type-certification process. Initial commercial routes and passenger operations are targeted to begin following final FAA airworthiness approvals in the US.
Archer has set up partnerships in international markets, such as the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) and now Italy, which may allow early trial/restricted operations before widespread US deployment.
(Source: ITA and additional TTRW input)
