Archer Aviation plans downtown Los Angeles vertiport ahead of LA28 Olympics

Archer Aviation and sports and entertainment group AEG have announced plans to develop a vertiport at LA LIVE in downtown Los Angeles, expanding Archer’s proposed electric air taxi network ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The companies have entered into an exclusive multi-year partnership. Under the agreement, Archer will become the exclusive air taxi provider for LA LIVE, AEG’s four-million-square-foot sports and entertainment district next to Crypto.com Arena.

If completed, the facility would be the first announced vertiport in downtown Los Angeles and would allow passengers to travel directly to LA LIVE aboard Archer’s Midnight electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

The project would also strengthen Archer’s preparations for the LA28 Games. The company is the official air taxi provider of LA28 and Team USA. Archer plans to have its aircraft transport VIPs, fans and other stakeholders around Los Angeles during the Games.

Archer adds LA LIVE vertiport to Los Angeles air taxi network

Archer has previously outlined plans for a Los Angeles network that would link key destinations including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), John Wayne Airport (SNA), SoFi Stadium, Hollywood Burbank Airport and the University of Southern California.

Hawthorne Airport, which Archer recently acquired, would serve as the network’s central operating hub.

The network map included in Archer’s fact sheet also includes proposed connections across the Los Angeles area, including downtown LA, Santa Monica and Orange County.

Archer says its goal is to turn road journeys that can take an hour or more into electric flights lasting around 10 to 20 minutes.

The addition of LA LIVE could be particularly significant because it places an air taxi facility in the centre of one of the city’s busiest entertainment districts rather than at an existing airport.

LA LIVE includes Peacock Theatre, The Novo, the GRAMMY Museum and other entertainment and hospitality venues. It is also adjacent to Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Centre.

“We see this as a one-of-a-kind opportunity to add a flagship downtown location to our planned Los Angeles air taxi network ahead of the LA28 Games,” Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said.

Preliminary work has started on the LA LIVE vertiport

The project is currently in the development stage, not yet an operational vertiport. But work towards that end has begun.

AEG and Archer have completed an initial feasibility study covering land use, airspace, available electrical power and potential community impacts. The next phase will examine the operational approach and passenger experience.

“We are thrilled to pursue this endeavour with Archer to enhance the fan experience around the major sports and live-entertainment events we host,” said Nick Baker, president and chief operating officer of AEG Global Partnerships. “This is an ambitious project and exactly the kind of forward-thinking collaboration that blends infrastructure and technology in service of our fans, visitors, and the broader community around major sports and live-entertainment events hosted at LA LIVE.”

Goldstein said that the collaboration with AEG would give Archer the “opportunity to continue building the infrastructure needed for Southern California to lead in the next era of all-electric flight.” 

Plans for the vertiport include the use of BETA Technologies electric aviation chargers. Archer said these would support the ACES consortium’s efforts to establish standardised charging infrastructure for large-scale electric air taxi operations.

Archer Midnight eVTOL aircraft aimed at faster travel across Los Angeles

Midnight is Archer’s piloted electric air taxi, designed primarily for short, consecutive urban flights.

The aircraft takes off and lands vertically before transitioning to wing-borne flight. Archer lists a maximum speed of up to 150mph and says the aircraft produces zero operating emissions and significantly less noise than a conventional helicopter.

Midnight uses 12 electric engines and propellers and incorporates redundant systems. Archer says the design meets safety levels comparable to those of commercial airliners.

The company recently demonstrated potential journey-time savings with a round trip between Salinas and Monterey, California. Each flight took around nine minutes, compared with what Archer says can be a road journey of more than 35 minutes.

LA28 Olympics could become a major showcase for electric air taxis

The timing of the LA LIVE project gives Archer a high-profile target for its Los Angeles network.

Downtown Los Angeles will be an important part of the 2028 Games, and Archer says LA LIVE will be at the centre of activity surrounding multiple Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Archer is using the announcement to unveil a special Team USA livery for Midnight at LA LIVE on 24 August. The aircraft will remain on public display through 25 August.

However, the Los Angeles plans still depend on infrastructure development and regulatory progress.

Archer says it has completed Phase 3 of the FAA’s four-phase type certification process for Midnight and that Phase 4 is underway.

The company is also preparing for earlier US operations through the federal government’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, under which it says Midnight operations could begin in Texas, Florida and New York as soon as 2026.

That makes the LA LIVE agreement another piece of the infrastructure Archer hopes to have in place as it works towards turning its proposed Los Angeles air taxi network into an operational service before the Olympic Games arrive in 2028.