Archer Aviation has completed the initial flight of its Midnight aircraft at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi, as the company moves towards commercial deployment in the United Arab Emirates and the expansion of its operations in the Middle East region.
The flight was witnessed by leadership from the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), the Integrated Transport Centre, Abu Dhabi Aviation and Abu Dhabi Airports, along with representatives from Archer’s regional partners.
Archer said this flight focused on evaluating the aircraft's vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) performance in UAE-specific conditions including temperature, humidity and dust exposure, the test flight allows Archer to validate readiness for commercial deployment.
Following this first flight, the manufacturer plans to expand its flight-testing program for Midnight in the region, gathering additional data to support its certification and commercialisation plans in both the UAE and other markets.
“Our initial test flight operations in the UAE represent a critical milestone as we prepare for our commercial deployment in Abu Dhabi,” said Adam Goldstein, CEO and Founder of Archer Aviation. “Testing our aircraft in actual operating conditions in the middle of summer provides us with the data we need to progress our commercial and certification efforts both in the UAE and in the US”
This also supports Archer's ‘Launch Edition commercialisation program’ with Abu Dhabi Aviation, which aims to establish air taxi services in Abu Dhabi.
This comes after Joby Aviation announced on July 1, 2025, that it had completed a series of piloted, vertical-takeoff-and-landing wingborne flights in Dubai, marking the start of its commercial market readiness efforts in the region.