Overview
- The Tokyo Metropolitan Government chose a consortium of Japan Airlines, Sumitomo Corporation, Archer Aviation and their joint venture Soracle to run the first phase of the city’s eVTOL program.
- Archer’s Midnight aircraft will be the platform for phase‑one activities focused on short, quiet electric hops across urban corridors.
- Work scopes include charging networks, vertiport planning, maintenance and flight operations, with component traceability down to bolt‑level conformance.
- Planned demonstration flights over Tokyo Bay and along river routes are intended to support route certification, regulatory coordination and passenger service integration.
- The selection builds on a November 2024 alliance among the partners and follows Archer’s October 2025 MOU discussions with Korean Air, with any commercial launch still contingent on certification and definitive agreements.