“Rahul Bhatia, Group Managing Director of InterGlobe, and Nikhil Goel, Chief Commercial Officer of Archer, signed an MoU to form a proposed partnership through which 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,” a joint release by the two companies said.

The partnership also plans to finance the purchase of up to 200 of Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft for India operations. InterGlobe Enterprises and Archer Aviation also plan to work with select in-country business partners to operate these aircraft, finance and build vertiport infrastructure, and train pilots and other personnel needed for operations. In addition to urban air taxi services, the two companies 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 charter services.

“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 release said.

As the name suggests, an eVTOL aircraft runs on electricity to hover, take off, and land vertically. eVTOL aircraft are being seen as the future of urban mobility. Apart from air taxis in urban areas, other potential use cases for eVTOL aircraft include segments like package delivery, air cargo, agriculture, and emergency medical services. A number of developed countries have announced plans to launch eVTOL-based air taxi service over the next few years.

Currently, India does not have eVTOL-specific policy and regulations, and the necessary infrastructure for their operations is also non-existent. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is looking the develop an ecosystem for such aircraft in the country with a focus on their operations as well as local manufacturing, given that India with its densely-populated cities and increasing urbanisation is a large potential market for eVTOL aircraft.

“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 all-electric Midnight aircraft is designed to provide a revolutionary transportation solution that can help address these congestion issues,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer Aviation’s founder and chief executive officer.