Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Unveils Plans for UAE’s First Hospital-Based Vertiport, in Partnership With Archer Aviation

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 8, 2025--

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The goal is to enable passengers to travel from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to nearby locations in just minutes, dramatically reducing travel times compared to traditional ground transportation. The two companies are exploring both non-emergency passenger use cases and time-critical organ transport. These operations would utilize Midnight, Archer’s electric aircraft designed to carry up to four passengers while producing less noise and emissions than a traditional helicopter and would use the planned passenger carrying cabin configuration for both purposes.

This partnership is another step forward in Archer’s planned launch of its commercial operations in Abu Dhabi. Archer plans to support Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in upgrading its existing helipad to enable both traditional helicopter and eVTOL aircraft operations.

“This partnership showcases the breadth of Archer’s network vision - connecting not just places, but pillars of life in Abu Dhabi,” said Bryan Bernhard, Chief Growth & Infrastructure Officer at Archer. “Following our first hybrid vertiport approval at the Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal earlier this year, this next location demonstrates how Archer and the GCAA are working together to unlock a city-wide ecosystem for advanced air mobility.”

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is internationally recognized for its world-class care and is a key regional destination for medical tourism. With this new vertiport, patients and visitors are expected to have enhanced access to the hospital.

“We are excited about the partnership with Archer to advance access to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s patient-centered care,” said Dr. Georges-Pascal Haber, CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. “This new mode of emission-free transport aligns with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s commitment to sustainability, gives additional options to many patients travelling to our hospital for care, and provides our thriving organ transplant program with fast logistics.”

Archer’s launch network in the UAE continues to leverage the GCAA’s regulatory framework for hybrid vertiports, which enables the simultaneous operation of conventional helicopters and eVTOL aircraft on the same infrastructure. Archer plans to continue to partner with leading institutions across the capital to convert existing helipads into certified vertiports in alignment with Abu Dhabi’s strategic vision for advanced air mobility.

About Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, part of the M42 group, is a multispecialty hospital located on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE. As an extension of Cleveland Clinic in the U.S., it is uniquely designed to address the complex and critical care needs of the UAE and the broader region. The hospital is organized into specialized Institutes, including Heart, Vascular & Thoracic; Neurological; Cancer; Digestive Disease; Medical Subspecialties; Integrated Surgical Subspecialties; Integrated Hospital Care; and Diagnostic.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is a 405-bed hospital, including 321 acute care beds, 84 critical care beds, four royal suites, and 26 operating rooms. Its state-of-the-art facilities provide patients in the region with direct access to world-class healthcare providers and Cleveland Clinic’s renowned model of care. The hospital is also home to the Fatima bint Mubarak Center, a dedicated cancer center offering comprehensive diagnostics and advanced treatment across 24 clinical departments, covering a range of cancer subspecialties and programs. Committed to medical innovation, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi integrates robotics across specialties, pioneers’ endovascular therapy and hybrid procedures, and offers comprehensive programs in heart failure, heart transplantation, and limb salvage. Licensed by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi as a designated research and teaching facility, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi drives medical innovation through clinical trials and advanced research to enhance patient care. It is the first hospital in the UAE accredited by both the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education International (ACGMEI) and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), offering residency and fellowship programs, undergraduate health professional training, and Continuing Medical Education (CME).

About Archer

Archer is designing and developing the key enabling technologies and aircraft necessary to power the future of aviation. To learn more, visit www.archer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward looking statements regarding Archer’s future business plans and goals, including statements regarding its aircraft performance, the timing of Archer’s development, commercialization, and certification of its eVTOL aircraft, intended use cases, the nature and benefits of collaborations between Archer and the Cleveland Clinic, and plans relating to infrastructure buildout and operations in the UAE. In addition, this press release refers to a memorandum of understanding that is conditioned on the future execution by the parties of additional binding definitive agreements incorporating the terms outlined in the memorandum of understanding, which definitive agreements may not be completed or may contain different terms than those set forth in the collaboration agreement. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed in Archer’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, available at www.sec.gov. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that Archer believes to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. Archer undertakes no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

Source: Archer

Text: ArcherIR

Image depicts simulated air taxi services at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi's facilities.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, in partnership with Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR), today announced plans to establish the first hospital-based vertiport in the United Arab Emirates, providing direct eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft access to one of the region’s most prominent hospital facilities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch that President Donald Trump wants built at an entrance to the nation's capital, a key step in the project's process.

Commissioners, all appointed by Trump, acted despite overwhelming public opposition to the 250-foot arch, one of several projects that Trump is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington.

“The building is beautiful,” the commission's chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., said shortly before the vote on a design revised slightly from what was presented to the federal agency in April.

The arch would stand 250 feet tall (76 meters) from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure on top of the structure. The statue would be flanked on top by two gilded eagles, but the four lions envisioned as guarding the base are now gone. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

A public observation deck on top would provide 360-degree views of the surroundings.

The commission’s vice chairman, architect James McCrery II, said in April that he preferred the arch without the figures on top, which would have reduced the arch's height by about 80 feet (24.4 meters). Critics of the project argue that the arch would dominate the skyline and disrupt views from the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery.

The arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and be close to half the height of the Washington Monument, an obelisk that is about 555 feet (169 meters) tall.

Commissioners were told at Thursday's meeting that Trump considered the suggestion to remove the statue “but elected not to pursue such an option.”

McCrery recommended doing away with the lions on the base and objected to plans for an underground tunnel for pedestrians to get to the arch, which would be built on a traffic circle. Both design elements have been removed.

Preliminary surveys and testing of the site began last week.

A group of veterans and a historian have sued the Trump administration in federal court to block construction on grounds that the arch would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.

The Republican president and his interior secretary, Doug Burgum, have argued that Washington is the only major Western world capital without such an arch. Burgum's department includes the National Park Service, which manages the plot where Trump wants to put the arch.

The president has said some of his other projects, such as adding a blue coating to the interior of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, will beautify the city in time for July 4 celebrations of America’s 250th birthday.

Trump's rehab of the Reflecting Pool is also the subject of a court challenge brought by The Cultural Landscape Foundation, which said the administration’s moves to repaint the bottom of the Reflecting Pool blue without first undergoing relevant reviews ran afoul of federal preservation laws governing historic sites.

The nonprofit group argued in a lawsuit filed last week that the changes at the Reflecting Pool are part of Trump’s broader effort to push through dramatic renovations in Washington without proper reviews and undermine the tone of the area.

A hearing in the case was scheduled for later Thursday in federal court in Washington.

Flags placed by workers are pictured in the Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary is seen, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)