Archer’s Midnight Completes City-to-City Flights in California Ahead of White House’s eIPP

Image: A view from Midnight’s cockpit during Archer’s round trip journey between Salinas and Monterey

• On July 30th, Archer’s all-electric Midnight aircraft completed a piloted roundtrip journey between Salinas Municipal Airport and Monterey Regional Airport as the company prepares to begin operations later this year under the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP).

• Each leg of the roundtrip journey was completed in ~9 minutes, a fraction of the ~35+ minutes the same trip can take by car, and was flown in close coordination with the FAA. (Watch Video)

• Beyond this flight, Archer is preparing for operations in Los Angeles ahead of their exclusive partnership with the LA28 Olympic Games and across its eIPP partner states, working with federal, state, and municipal governments to establish the procedures, infrastructure, and local operational capabilities needed to support future air taxi operations.

SAN JOSE, Calif., August 3, 2026 — Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) today announced the completion of a piloted roundtrip journey with its all-electric Midnight aircraft on July 30th, departing from Salinas Municipal Airport and landing at Monterey Regional Airport before making the return flight. Archer worked closely with the FAA to execute this piloted, round trip inter city flight, a major step toward launching Midnight operations under the White House’s eIPP program later this year.

Midnight covered each leg of the journey in roughly nine minutes, a trip that can take ~35+ minutes by car, demonstrating the kind of short, time-saving hops the aircraft was built to fly. 

“This roundtrip journey is exactly the kind of route we plan to fly with Midnight under the eIPP and in LA during the Olympic Games,” said Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer. “This mission provides a template for us to replicate with our partners across Texas, Florida and New York as we get ready for eIPP operations later this year.”

As part of its broader eIPP efforts, Archer is working closely with the FAA, federal, state and local partners to establish the procedures, infrastructure and local operational capabilities needed to support future commercial air taxi operations. That work also supports preparations in Los Angeles, where Archer will serve as the Official Air Taxi Provider for the LA28 Olympic Games.

Archer’s Midnight air taxi is designed to enable passengers to replace 60-90 minute trips on the ground with quiet, all-electric flights, dramatically reducing travel times compared to traditional ground transportation and helping avoid growing levels of congestion.

About Archer

Archer builds the aircraft and core technologies that will define the next era of flight for aerospace and defense.

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