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 (Santa Clara, Calif., U.S.) has entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India’s travel and hospitality conglomerate  (New Delhi) to launch and operate an all-electric air taxi service in India, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and clearances. This development closely follows Archer’s work to establish similar services in the UAE.

The parties intend to work with select in-country business partners to operate Archer’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, finance and build vertiport infrastructure, and train pilots and other personnel needed for these operations. The partnership also plans to finance the purchase of up to 200 of Archer’s Midnight aircraft for the India operations.

Midnight is designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. The goal is for a passenger on an InterGlobe-Archer flight to be able to fly the 27-kilometer Delhi trip from Connaught Place to Gurugram, which typically takes 60-90 minutes by car, in approximately seven minutes.

In addition to urban air taxi services, the parties plan to pursue a variety of other use cases for the electric aircraft in India, including cargo, logistics, medical and emergency services, as well as private company and charter services.

“I founded Archer with the vision to help decongest the world’s largest cities. India is one of, if not the largest opportunity for eVTOL aircraft utilization in the world, as it is home to the world’s largest population of over 1.4 billion people and its largest cities face some of the greatest congestion challenges in the world,” Archer’s CEO and founder, Adam Goldstein, notes. “Archer’s all-electric Midnight aircraft is designed to provide a revolutionary transportation solution that can help address these congestion issues.”