An hour’s drive separates the airport from Fiumicino from the center of Rome. Archer Aviation promises to reduce this journey to less than ten minutes, aboard electric flying taxis. The American manufacturer signed an agreement in this regard on October 29. ITA Airways, member of group Lufthansa, For a network covering the major Italian cities. The service would be based on Midnight, its vertical takeoff and landing device. Archer It aims more broadly at flights of 10 to 20 minutes, instead of road trips of 60 to 90 minutes.« Rome-Fiumicino exceeded 50 million passengers last year for the first time in its history. »That's what we do," recalls Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer.
ITA Airways becomes the first European airline to partner with Archer, which is already present in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. It will focus on integrating the service into its customers’ itineraries and into its network. Operations will be handled by specialized partners. The company is already applying this logic to rail. Since 2023, it has been offering a single ticket for air and train travel via Fiumicino, with baggage check-in at the station. However, the agreement with Archer remains conditional: it depends on the signing of final contracts and several conditions. No launch date or city has been announced. Joerg Eberhart, CEO of ITA Airways, also mentions« an important step to assess how electric air taxi services could complement our network ".
Companies are betting on the last mile
ITA Airways follows a model already adopted in the United Kingdom. In July, Virgin Atlantic became the exclusive airline partner of Joby, a competitor of Archer, to market its air taxis. Passengers will be able to book these flights on the company’s app and website, in addition to their long-haul flights. The first two routes are expected to connect Heathrow to central London in 8 minutes and Manchester Airport to Leeds in 15 minutes. Joby, however, will retain the operation and charge of the permits from the British Civil Aviation Authority.
In Asia, other players have taken the lead. In China, Civil aviation has authorized EHang to transport passengers on board of unmanned flying taxis in Guangzhou and Hefei. In South Korea, Korean Air plans to open in Bucheon around 2030, Between Seoul and Incheon, a research center dedicated to urban air mobility.
In Europe, certification remains the key step
The example of Volocopter shows the importance of certification in the process. After the false start of the 2024 Paris Games and a bankruptcy filing at the end of 2024, the German manufacturer teamed up in February 2025 with Jet Systems Helicopters Services to relaunch its project in Paris. It was then awaiting certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency. The communiqué from ITA Airways and Archer does not address this issue. However attractive it may be, the air taxi between Fiumicino and Rome remains at the stage of a project, with no timeline or price.
