"We are also collaborating with universities on what curricula or short diplomas need to be developed for the workforce that will go into this ecosystem." 

He said the test phase will continue into the summer to “understand how this vehicle will withstand the unique summer environment with humidity and dust. Then we'll bring this aircraft to fly over the city and then into the commercial phase in early 2026.”

The successful launch of a test flight by Abu Dhabi comes a couple of days after a similar successful test launch by Joby Aviation in Dubai. Both the emirates are looking to launch flying taxis in the next few quarters.

Dr Talib Alhinai, manager of Archer Aviation in the UAE, said Archer just completed its first flight of its Midnight aircraft in the UAE capital, which is Archer’s planned first global launch market.

“Once we validate that readiness, we'll be able to assess our readiness for commercial deployments and expand our flight test programme.”

In the initial phase of commercial launch, Archer plans to deploy a small fleet of aircraft to the UAE.

In an interview with Khaleej Times, Omran Malek noted that the priority is to launch the commercial operations safely and have the ecosystem ready with the vertiports and integration with the airspace. “So, all that is the priority for us to launch in Abu Dhabi.”

He added that the aim is to launch commercial flying taxi services in early 2026 in Abu Dhabi.

He added that the manufacturing of the flying taxis by Archer will begin in Al Ain in 2027. And in the next phase, they will be exported to other countries as well due to strong interest from regional countries.

In terms of pricing, he said that the assumption is that this new mode of transportation is “only for luxury travellers, which is not the case in Abu Dhabi. The price will be feasible for the public. As we introduce more vertiports and aeroplanes, that price will scale down so that it can be used on a daily basis.”