Archer Aviation plans downtown Los Angeles vertiport for 2028 Olympics

Archer Aviation said this week it has partnered with entertainment company AEG to develop a vertiport at L.A. Live, the downtown Los Angeles entertainment complex, ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games. The company described the site as the first vertiport announced for the downtown area.

The facility would serve Archer's Midnight aircraft, an electric vertical takeoff and landing model designed to carry a pilot and up to four passengers on short urban routes. According to the company, Midnight is meant to cut trips that currently take over an hour by car down to roughly 10 to 20 minutes by air. The aircraft cruises at up to 150 mph and recharges in about ten minutes between flights.

Archer said it would be the exclusive air taxi operator serving L.A. Live under the arrangement. The company also said the vertiport is meant to demonstrate urban air mobility technology even before the Games begin. Beta Technologies is supplying the charging equipment at the site.

The project builds on Archer's selection last year by the LA28 organizing committee as the official air taxi provider for the Games and for Team USA. To mark the announcement, Archer put a Team USA-branded Midnight aircraft on display at L.A. Live earlier this week, where it stayed on public view for two days.

Archer's chief executive, Adam Goldstein, called the vertiport a flagship addition to the company's planned air taxi network in Los Angeles. The announcement did not include a timeline for construction or an opening date for the vertiport.