Electric air taxi maker Archer Aviation gets key FAA sign-off

The FAA has granted Archer Aviation a key certification that gets the electric air taxi maker closer to eventually flying travelers, the company said Wednesday. Archer is making electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs, and won orders and backing in 2021 from United Airlines, which says the new technology could reduce carbon emissions. Carriers have been investing in or ordering eVTOL aircraft, which take off and land vertically like helicopters and whose developers say they can cut down on emissions in congested areas. United, for example, says passengers could take them to and from the airport in big cities, such as between Manhattan and United’s hub in Newark, New Jersey. “Today we have received the Part 135 certification, which allows us to effectively become an airline so we can carry passengers,” Archer CEO Adam Goldstein told CNBC. The process has taken Archer about two years: It submitted more than 2,000 pages of documents and 14 manuals outlining operational procedures, training and maintenance.<br/>