India’s frist air taxi may take off in 2026, fares to be a little higher than Uber’s

InterGlobe has placed order for 200 Midnight taxis from Archer, valued at one billion dollars

NEW DELHI: The country’s first air taxi will take off in 2026 if the urban air mobility project being chalked out by the aviation ministry could be launched as per the schedule. The ministry has appointed several technical panels to give the project its final shape.

In the first phase, the ministry plans to introduce it in metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.  In the next phase, the facility will be extended to Chennai and Hyderabad.

InterGlobe Enterprises (IGE) which owns IndiGo, the country’s largest airline by the number of aircraft and passengers will run the service.  It will set up the necessary infrastructure for electrical takeoff and landing aircraft. American air taxi manufacturer Archer Aviation collaborates with the Indian firm in this venture.

InterGlobe has placed an order for 200 Midnight taxis from Archer, valued at one billion dollars

Archer plans to commence the operation, starting with New York and Chicago next year. It will be followed by India and the UAE.

The government expects that the problem of congestion in megacities will be eased considerably by urban air mobility.

It is estimated that fares of air taxis will be affordable to Indian urban commuters. It is expected to be only slightly higher than Uber. For instance, Delhi-Gurgaon costs Rs1500-2000 by Uber, while an air taxi passenger has to pay only a little over Rs2000-3000 for the same route.