L.A. gets its first air taxi hub as Archer plans downtown vertiport ahead of 2028 Olympics
Los Angeles is getting its first planned downtown hub for electric air taxis as Archer Aviation and AEG announced plans Monday to develop a vertiport at L.A.LIVE ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.The proposed vertiport would serve as a launch and landing site for Archer’s Midnight aircraft, an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle designed for short trips across urban areas.The partnership makes Archer the exclusive air taxi provider for L.A.
LIVE, AEG’s sprawling four-million-square-foot sports and entertainment district adjacent to Crypto.com Arena.Archer CEO and founder Adam Goldstein described the project as a flagship addition to the company’s planned Los Angeles network.“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,” Goldstein said.The planned facility would become a key addition to Archer’s broader Los Angeles air taxi network, giving fans, athletes, artists and other visitors a potential way to travel directly to and from the downtown entertainment district without relying on the city’s notoriously congested roads.Archer says its planned network is designed to cut trips across Los Angeles to roughly 10 to 20 minutes, including journeys that can take an hour or longer by car.The company has previously announced plans for additional air taxi locations at SoFi Stadium, USC and Hollywood Burbank, while Hawthorne Airport is expected to serve as the network’s central operational hub.The project is also being developed with the 2028 Games in mind.Archer is the Official Air Taxi Provider of LA28 and Team USA, while L.A.
LIVE is expected to host 19 Olympic and Paralympic sports during the Games.That could make the proposed downtown vertiport a potentially important piece of transportation infrastructure as Los Angeles prepares to accommodate millions of visitors for the international sporting event.“We are thrilled to purs...