Archer Aviation's deal to pay $126 million to buy an airport in the Los Angeles area marks one of the biggest real estate bets by a company in the emerging flying taxi industry.
The agreement by the Silicon Valley-based maker of electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, vehicles to pay cash for Hawthorne Municipal Airport from the city of Hawthorne appears to be the first time such an operator has made such a transaction. Other players including VertiPorts by Atlantic and Skyports are leasing rooftops and small parcels for future air taxi landing sites.
The 80-acre site, known historically as Jack Northrop Field, includes about 190,000 square feet of terminal, office and hangar facilities. The airport is less than three miles from Los Angeles International Airport and is near SoFi Stadium, The Forum and Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
The airport caters to private planes, corporate jets and aviation startups — not airlines or passenger flights. Soon, it will be transformed into a takeoff, landing and testing hub for Archer's Los Angeles planned air taxi network. The company says the site will play a role in moving passengers for the 2028 Olympics and in advancing its artificial intelligence–powered flight and ground control systems.
“The era of advanced aviation has arrived — not as a distant vision, but as a tangible reality,” said a statement from Adam Goldstein, Archer’s founder and chief executive. “The time to seize this transformative opportunity is now.”
Archer said its airport purchase could give it a head start as the Federal Aviation Administration finalizes rules for air taxi operations this decade.
Race for landing sites
The flying taxi industry is racing to build prototypes aimed at short-distance urban trips, freeing drivers from traffic congestion and getting them places faster. Archer's four-seat Midnight is designed to fly up to 150 mph and land with noise no louder than a vacuum cleaner.
The company has raised about $2 billion to fund its growth, including a recent $650 million equity round led by investors like United Airlines. The company is flight-testing six prototypes of its Midnight aircraft, with plans to launch service in Dubai next year. Archer is progressing through FAA certification, aiming for type certification late this year and commercial operations beginning in 2026.
Archer's decision to buy an airport rather than lease signals its long-term commitment to Los Angeles as one of its anchor markets. The company plans to retrofit the hangars and terminals to support charging infrastructure, flight testing and passenger operations for its aircraft.
The company said the Hawthorne site could serve as the centerpiece of a broader network of vertiports across the region, linking LAX, downtown Los Angeles, and major entertainment and sports venues. With the 2028 Olympics on the horizon, air taxi developers are racing to establish infrastructure that can handle short-distance passenger flights above gridlocked freeways.
Archer’s acquisition adds momentum to a fast-moving real estate land grab for air taxi infrastructure in Los Angeles. Plano, Texas–based VertiPorts by Atlantic has enlisted Cushman & Wakefield to scout for sites in markets including Los Angeles, the Bay Area, New York and South Florida, with plans to secure its first ground leases by year-end.
UK-based Skyports has also identified at least eight potential vertiport sites in Los Angeles and hopes to open its first locations in time for the Olympics. These projects vary in size from 1-acre rooftops to 5-acre ground sites, each requiring FAA-approved flight paths, high-voltage electrical connections and local land-use clearances.
The rush to secure space underscores how critical real estate has become to the commercialization of air taxis. For operators, proximity to airports, downtowns and entertainment hubs can make or break a network’s viability. For cities like Los Angeles, early investment in these hubs could determine whether they lead or lag in the sky commute race.
Los Angeles airports in flux
Archer’s purchase may be among the priciest airport transactions to take hold in the nation of late, but it isn't the only one. Last year, a regional airport in Indiana sold for $1.8 million to a public authority, while a YouTube content creator paid $3.5 million for a private airfield in Florida.
The sale underscores a broader airport evolution taking hold in the Los Angeles area.
The region's busiest airport, Los Angeles International Airport, is in the thick of a $30 billion modernization that includes new terminals, a people mover and revamped roads — all in preparation for record passenger volumes ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
North of LAX, Hollywood Burbank Airport is building a $1.3 billion terminal inspired by Old Hollywood, complete with a silver screen–style canopy and slanted columns that nod to classic movie premieres.
The 355,000-square-foot facility will replace the 1930s-era terminal sitting dangerously close to the runway, improving safety and traffic flow when it opens in 2026.
Meanwhile, Santa Monica is taking its airport in the opposite direction — shutting it down entirely by 2028 and transforming the 192-acre site into a massive park. The city’s decision preserves open space but closes the door on housing, underscoring the diverging future uses for such properties.