The flying cars will operate entirely over the water, giving passengers scenic views of the two cities and the Arabian Sea
UAE residents’ dream of travelling in a flying car could be fulfilled as soon as 2025.
In a big move, the US electric flying carmaker Archer is collaborating with the UAE-based aviation services operator Falcon Aviation to build vertiports — vertical airports — in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The vertiports in the two cities will be connected using Archer’s Midnight, which is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights.
The first vertiport will be built at Falcon Heliport at Atlantis the Palm in Dubai and the Marina Mall heliport in Abu Dhabi’s Corniche. It will cut down a 60–90-minute car commute to an estimated 10-30 minute electric air taxi flights. What more? The flight will be safe, low noise, and cost-competitive with ground transportation.
The vertiports will be built ahead of the launch of the flying car between the two emirates in 2025. This venture is set to be the first international launch of Archer.
The flying car will operate entirely over the water, giving passengers scenic views of both the city and the Arabian Sea.
“We look forward to paving the way for the introduction of our Midnight aircraft to the region which will set the stage for the UAE to become a global leader in urban air mobility,” said Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer.
Captain Ramandeep Oberoi, CEO of Falcon Aviation, said the company has been at the forefront of helicopter passenger transport in the UAE for nearly two decades,
Nikhil Goel, chief commercial officer, Archer, said they have made rapid progress in the UAE over the past three months since announcing that Abu Dhabi and Dubai will be home to its first international midnight flights as soon as 2025.
In February 2024, the US-based Joby Aviation, which is developing all-electric aircraft for commercial passenger service, signed an agreement with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) to launch air taxi services by early 2026, with Joby targeting initial operations as early as 2025.
Joby has also signed an agreement with Skyports to design, build and operate four vertiport sites across Dubai – Dubai International Airport, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina and Downtown.