Archer Aviation has appointed Dr Talib Alhinai as its UAE lead. Dr Alhinai, who currently serves on the board of directors for UAE aviation regulator GCAA, will be responsible for spearheading the planned launch of Archer’s electric air taxis in the region.

Alhinai will be critical in helping to guide the consortium led by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) that Archer announced as part of its Q3 2024 results. Through this consortium, Archer has already made significant progress in establishing the regulatory pathway, infrastructure and flight operations plans necessary to enable market entry as early as late next year.

Prior to Archer, Alhinai served as director of strategy at the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, a supervisory body reporting to the Executive Council under the command of the Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed, where he worked on the emirate’s long-term strategic planning and performance review.

“As a leader who worked to advance Abu Dhabi’s strategic and executive plans in the service of its Executive Council led by His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed, Dr Alhinai will be instrumental as we work towards our launch across the UAE, starting in Abu Dhabi as soon as next year,” says CCO Nikhil Goel. “His background in aerial robotics and his expertise in aviation and national policy will help accelerate our launch of air taxi services in the region.”

Alhinai comments: “The UAE is leading the way in accelerating the launch of electric air taxis, and it is a cornerstone of Archer’s commercial launch plans. I’m proud to be joining to support its growth in the region. The team is talented, the tech is impressive and we’ve got a big year ahead of us; I’m excited to dig in.”

Alhinai also held roles at McKinsey & Company across several international markets, with experience in high-growth tech, sustainability and advanced air mobility. He holds a PhD in aerial robotics from Imperial College London and a Bachelor of Engineering in mechatronic engineering from the University of Manchester.

In April, Archer agreed a multi-hundred million dollar investment to accelerate commercial air taxi operations in the UAE, covering collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office on vertiport construction, operational enablement for air taxi operations and in-country manufacturing of Archer’s Midnight aircraft.