The Saudi Arabian General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has announced the signing of a new agreement with Archer Aviation that will see both parties collaborate to accelerate the deployment of electric air taxis across the Kingdom.
Under the collaboration; both parties will establish a regulatory pathway for the introduction and scale-up of eVTOL air taxi operations within Saudi Arabia, aligning with the FAA’s certification ruleset to ensure interoperability.
GACA has also stated it will model its regulatory pathway around the eVTOL Implementation Pilot Program (eIPP) in the US, an approach that will aim to enable early route testing and service introduction in Riyadh, Jeddah and large scale projects such as Red Sea Global.
The new agreement forms a part of GACA’s ongoing efforts to accelerate the Kingdom’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ecosystem in line with the AAM Roadmap, as well as the objectives of the aviation programme, under the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS).
Adam Goldstein, Archer founder and CEO, said:Saudi Arabia is moving with impressive speed and clarity, and we are honoured that GACA has chosen to collaborate with Archer in this effort.
Aligning this certification work with the FAA and launching early demonstration operations in the Kingdom will help us bring this program to life safely and quickly. We look forward to working hand-in-hand with GACA to make the Kingdom one of the world’s first markets to embrace eVTOL aircraft at scale.
Both parties have also stated that they plan to undertake a series of proof-of-concept demonstrations and experimental flights to validate regulatory approaches, support infrastructure development and strengthen public perception.
Captain Sulaiman bin Saleh Al-Muhaimedi, Executive Vice President for Aviation Safety and Environmental Sustainability at GACA, stated:This MoU is an important step in advancing the Kingdom’s vision for Advanced Air Mobility.
By working with global partners such as Archer, we continue to strengthen the regulatory and operational foundations needed to safely integrate eVTOL aircraft into our aviation system. The initiative supports the AAM Roadmap and reinforces the Kingdom’s position as a regional leader in next-generation air transport.
