India's largest airline IndiGo's parent company InterGlobe Enterprises (IGE) plans to launch an all-electric taxi air service in India by 2026. The company has tied up with a leading California-based electric air taxi firm, Archer Aviation, to launch electric air taxis across India’s largest and most congested cities in 2026.
As per the memorandum of understanding (MOU), the companies plan to purchase up to 200 midnight aircraft, with the goal of bringing up operations in 2026, starting with Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore.
The venture is aimed at helping “improve mobility in these cities that are facing some of the greatest congestion challenges in the world as India’s population is now over 1.4 billion", the companies say in a joint statement.
The parties will also work with select in-country business partners to operate aircraft, finance and build vertiport infrastructure, and train pilots and other personnel needed for these operations.
"Archer’s Midnight aircraft is a piloted, four-passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 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-km Delhi trip from Connaught Place to Gurugram, typically taking 60 to 90 minutes by car, in approximately 7 minutes," the companies say.
In addition to urban air taxi services, the companies also plan to pursue a variety of other use cases for electric aircraft in India, including cargo, logistics, medical and emergency services, as well as private company and charter services.
“…the parties aim to provide a revolutionary transportation solution for the country, improving urban mobility with safe, sustainable, and low-noise electric air taxi service that is cost-competitive with ground transportation,” says the statement.
Rahul Bhatia, Group Managing Director of InterGlobe, says InterGlobe is excited at this new opportunity of bringing an effective, futuristic and sustainable transport solution by “introducing Archer’s electric aircraft to India.”
Archer’s CEO and Founder, Adam Goldstein says Archer’s all-electric midnight aircraft is designed to provide a “revolutionary transportation solution” to address the congestion issues. Archer is backed by some of the biggest brands in the industry, including the likes of Boeing, United Airlines and auto major Stellantis.
Urban congestion is not sustainable, with the World Bank projecting that the urban population will more than double by 2050, with short road commutes taking up to 2 hours in many of the world’s largest cities.
