Three Tarrant County airports could soon be linked to local business hubs through a network of electric air taxis.
Archer Aviation announced Friday morning that it plans to build three separate electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft networks to serve some of the state’s largest metro areas: Fort Worth-Dallas, Houston and Austin.
Under the plan, Archer would connect with five major airports in North Texas, including Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Arlington Municipal Airport and Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, with major business hubs such as the Star in Frisco. Two Dallas County facilities — Dallas Love Field and Addison Airport — are also included.
Archer’s air taxi networks “are designed to give Texans an option to skip over traffic on its all-electric Midnight air taxi, turning 60-90 minute drives to major airports, business districts and major destinations into 10-20 minute flights,” officials said in a news release.
City aviation officials also plan to support air taxis through a $92,500 award to fund charging infrastructure at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport. The award is among $477,500 in funds provided by the Regional Transportation Council. Denton Enterprise Airport and Granbury Regional Airport each received $92,500 awards for electric aircraft chargers while Greenville Municipal Airport landed $200,000 for its project, officials said.
“The charging equipment will be installed in an operational area at Meacham capable of accommodating compatible electric vertical takeoff and landing (aircraft) and electric conventional takeoff and landing aircraft, allowing aircraft to be recharged, if needed, between flights to other airports participating in the North Texas advanced air mobility network,” Roger Venables, Fort Worth aviation director, previously said in an email to the Fort Worth Report.
In September, Archer partnered with Beta and Macquarie Capital to create America’s Consortium for Electric Skyways, which plans to operate up to 250 air taxis across the nation.
The consortium is working with the Texas Department of Transportation as well as state and local officials to expand electric charging infrastructure across Texas. Airports, fixed-base operations and other points of interest will receive charging infrastructure under the White House’s eVTOL pilot program.
“The future of aviation is taking flight in Texas,” Sergio Roman, TxDOT’s emerging aviation technology director, said in a statement. “The (pilot program) is a first-of-its-kind effort to safely integrate electric aircraft into U.S. airspace, and building the charging infrastructure to support those operations puts Texas squarely at the center of the next generation of aviation — improving safety and connectivity for communities across the state.”
Pilot program testing at Perot Field, Fort Worth Stockyards, Arlington, DFW Airport and other North Texas sites will determine how advanced air mobility can be integrated into the nation’s transportation system. That program also includes Joby Aviation and Wisk Aero.
Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer Aviation, said the charging infrastructure installed at Texas airports will set the foundation for passenger air taxi flights, part of the final phase of the state pilot program.
“Texas is preparing the way for America to lead the world in commercializing the next generation of aviation technologies, and infrastructure is how that push becomes real,” he said in a statement.
Archer chose the three metro areas for its operations since the Texas Triangle is home to 20 million people in the state’s fastest growing areas. Commuters in Houston, Fort Worth-Dallas and Austin lose days each year sitting in traffic congestion, costing the state billions in lost time, productivity and infrastructure costs, Archer officials said.
The company’s announcement comes after Archer completed a Northern California tour that included multiple flights over the San Francisco Bay area.
Company officials said the tour included flights to seven cities over three days to amplify the benefits of electric air taxis such as low aircraft noise, zero operating emissions and the ability to avoid crowded highways.
“These flights demonstrated Midnight’s ability to seamlessly integrate into complex urban airspace much like the skies above Houston, Dallas and Austin,” Archer officials said in a news release.
Archer officials will give Texans a glimpse of the air taxis during the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix event Oct. 22-25 in Austin. An F-1 Circuit Helipad will be used during the race.
The company also plans to fly air taxis in Los Angeles during the 2028 Olympic games.