Air taxis in Abu Dhabi: ADIO, ADA partner to promote eVTOL aircraft

Image credit: Anthony WALLACE/ Getty Images

Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has partnered with Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADA), the biggest commercial helicopter operator in the Middle East to promote electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

ADA will set up an eVTOL MRO facility in Abu Dhabi as part of the partnership, further complementing the city’s extensive portfolio of MRO businesses and promoting smart and autonomous vehicle solutions and applications.

ADIO and ADA will also collaborate with local UAE airlines, global eVTOL OEMs and key international partners, in line with Abu Dhabi’s Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industry (SAVI) cluster’s ambitions to tap into synergies and shared technologies.

ADA will also play a key role in supporting SAVI to bring together all relevant stakeholders to advance value chain development by partnering with technology companies operating in SAVI, and by commercialising intellectual property and innovations created through joint research and development.

It will also be further complementing knowledge transfer and national capabilities through its pilot training facility, further promoting eVTOL services.

Abu Dhabi’s SAVI cluster provides state-of-the-art facilities and value-add services within an enabling regulatory environment. ADA will be working closely with local regulators to adopt an efficient, clear and proactive regulatory framework that will support the future of aviation mobility worldwide.

ADA provides aviation offshore oil support and other services worldwide, and in particular, for Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas production companies. The company also provides VVIP passenger transportation services, search and rescue, crop spraying, aerial construction, seismic support, firefighting in Europe and third-party maintenance support.

The collaboration follows the launch of the SAVI cluster in Masdar City.

ADIO brings air taxi to Abu Dhabi

Meanwhile, ADIO is partnering with Archer Aviation, a California aircraft company, to launch air taxi services across the UAE by 2026.

Abu Dhabi is set to be the eVTOL firm’s first international market outside the US. Under the agreement, ADIO aims to support Archer through incentives for setting up its first global headquarters and factory in the SAVI cluster in Abu Dhabi.

Electrifying the sky in the UAE ⚡We’re proud to announce the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as Archer’s first international launch market with plans to commence electric air taxi operations across Abu Dhabi and Dubai in 2026. Recently, Archer had the honor of being joined by His… pic.twitter.com/1OBZQwd0o7

— Archer (@ArcherAviation) October 16, 2023

At the Dubai Air Show, which will take place from November 13-17, the carrier will exhibit its Midnight aircraft and hopefully secure more partners as it targets expansion in the coming years,  ADIO and Archer said in a joint statement.

The following week, Archer will exhibit its new product at the Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels hosted by the International Civil Aviation Authority and the General Civil Aviation Authority.

Archer seeks to transform urban travel, replacing 60 to 90-minute trips by car with estimated 10 to 20-minute electric air taxi flights that are safe, sustainable, low noise and cost-competitive.

Read: Here’s how UAE is expanding the horizons of smart mobility