Archer Aviation and ITA Airways have agreed to work together on the development of an electric air taxi network in Italy, potentially linking airports with city centres and other key destinations. The agreement, announced on 29 October, makes ITA the first European carrier to join Archer’s network of airline partners.
The companies plan to assess services in major Italian cities using Archer’s Midnight aircraft. Designed for repeated short flights with no operating emissions, Midnight aims to replace road journeys of 60–90 minutes with flights lasting 10–20 minutes. Archer estimates that a journey between Rome Fiumicino Airport and the city centre could take less than 10 minutes.
ITA’s contribution will focus on integrating the proposed service with its existing network and passenger journeys, working with specialist partners responsible for operations. The airline serves more than 70 destinations and belongs to the Lufthansa Group and Star Alliance.
“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,” Joerg Eberhart, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of ITA Airways said. “By fostering an integrated, seamless and more sustainable travel experience, we want to help shape the future of mobility in Italy and offer our customers an increasingly efficient journey from origin to destination,” he added.
“Italy is one of the most visited countries on Earth: Rome Fiumicino crossed 50 million passengers last year for the first time in its history. Every one of those travelers deserves the option to skip an hour in traffic with a 10-minute, all-electric flight,” said Archer founder and chief executive Adam Goldstein.
The agreement extends Archer’s commercial development into Europe, alongside its activities in the United States and United Arab Emirates.
However, the project remains at the development stage. The companies had not announced a launch date, identified an operator or disclosed an aircraft purchase. Midnight has yet to receive certification to carry passengers, leaving regulatory approval as a requirement before commercial services can begin.
The battery-powered aircraft takes off and lands vertically and accommodates a pilot and up to four passengers. During a recent three-day California demonstration campaign, it covered more than 200 miles across seven cities and reached a maximum speed of 131 mph. Flights from Oakland International Airport reached San Francisco’s Marina District in approximately 10 minutes.
Rome has already hosted trials of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. In 2022, a piloted Volocopter demonstration took place at Fiumicino’s experimental vertiport, which was developed to test flights, aircraft turnaround procedures and battery charging.
According to Business Traveller, Italy’s aviation regulator, ENAC, offered Grottaglie Airport as a testing site during talks with ITA, Archer and UrbanV in October 2025. These trials would help secure approval for the aircraft and their operations, coordinated with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), whose certification is needed before commercial air taxi services can launch in the EU.
