PIF’s The Helicopter Company, Archer Aviation, and Red Sea Global Partner to Launch eVTOL Air Mobility in Saudi Arabia

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 19, 2025--

The Helicopter Company (THC), a Public Investment Fund (PIF) company and Saudi Arabia’s premier commercial helicopter operator, has signed an agreement at this year’s Dubai Airshow with Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR), a U.S.-based aerospace innovator designing and developing the key enabling technologies and aircraft necessary to power the future of aviation and Red Sea Global (RSG), the developer behind regenerative tourism destinations The Red Sea and AMAALA. The partnership will focus on the development, testing, and potential integration of Archer’s eVTOL aircraft into RSG’s operations as one of the first deployments of eVTOL aircraft in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251119061214/en/

The signing marks a major step forward in the Kingdom’s efforts to explore and integrate electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft into its emerging mobility ecosystem. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Captain Arnaud Martinez, CEO of THC, John Pagano, Group CEO of Red Sea Global, and Nikhil Goel, Chief Commercial Officer of Archer Aviation.

In the initial phase of the agreement, Archer Aviation will work together with THC and RSG to help build the foundational framework for their planned eVTOL operations in Saudi Arabia. This includes establishing a structured sandbox environment to conduct test flights with Archer’s Midnight eVTOL under real-world conditions to assess aircraft performance, operational feasibility, regulatory alignment, passenger acceptance, and overall ecosystem readiness. They will also collaborate on testing advanced aerial technologies, exploring long-term strategic partnerships for large-scale deployment, and supporting regional innovation to advance next-generation aviation systems.

As the framework progresses, RSG will lead the sandbox testing with Archer’s Midnight aircraft to evaluate the potential for integrating eVTOL aircraft into the company’s future operations. Given RSG’s controlled airspace, sustainable infrastructure, and its position as a flagship developer under PIF, it offers a suitable platform to demonstrate the potential of advanced air mobility in supporting regenerative tourism and next-generation transportation options for the Kingdom.

“eVTOL is emerging as the future of urban passenger transportation, and with the right partners, we are glad to be a key part of ensuring that Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of this transformation in aviation,” said Captain Arnaud Martinez, the CEO of THC. “Our partnership demonstrates confidence in emerging technologies, and a shared commitment to shaping a smarter, more connected tomorrow, together.”

John Pagano, Group CEO of Red Sea Global, stated, “At Red Sea Global, we are committed to redefining sustainable travel and setting new standards for innovation within the Kingdom’s tourism and mobility sectors. Partnering with THC and Archer to explore the integration of eVTOL aircraft into our destinations aligns perfectly with our vision for regenerative tourism, creating cleaner, faster, and more connected ways for guests to experience the beauty of Saudi Arabia.”

Archer Aviation’s founder and CEO, Adam Goldstein commented, “A key part of Archer’s strategy is partnering with the leading operators in each country who share our goals and vision, and both THC and RSG are similarly committed to ensuring that Saudi Arabia is operationally prepared to launch eVTOL aircraft. We look forward to working together to demonstrate how Archer’s Midnight aircraft can transform travel within the Kingdom and set a regional benchmark for the future of aviation.”

Following the completion of the sandbox program, all parties will review the results and consider further initiatives to support large scale introduction of eVTOL services.

This partnership represents a significant milestone in Saudi Arabia’s journey toward sustainable, next-generation aviation, paving the way for cleaner, faster, and more connected modes of transport that align with the ambitions of Vision 2030.

About The Helicopter Company (THC):

THC was established as part of Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)’s strategy to activate new sectors in Saudi Arabia that support the realization of Vision 2030 by creating an entire new ecosystem for general aviation services and introducing safe and efficient transport services across the Kingdom. THC is Kingdom’s premier commercial helicopter operator and has been operating since mid-2019. THC currently has 60± aircraft that serve diverse segments, including Emergency Medical Services (EMS), aerial work, private charters and tourism in the Kingdom.

For more information, please visit: https://www.helicopter.com.sa/

LinkedIn: @thc-ksa

About Red Sea Global

Red Sea Global (RSG) is a vertically integrated real estate developer with a diverse portfolio across tourism, residential, experiences, infrastructure, transport, healthcare, and services. This includes the luxury regenerative tourism destinations The Red Sea, which began welcoming guests in 2023, and AMAALA, which remains on track to welcome first guests in 2025.

A third destination, Thuwal Private Retreat, opened in 2024, and RSG has also been entrusted with refurbishment works at Al Wajh Airport, focused on upgrading the existing terminal and infrastructure, and building a new international terminal.

RSG is a PIF company and a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s ambition to diversify its economy. Across its growing portfolio of destinations, subsidiaries, and businesses, RSG seeks to lead the world towards a more sustainable future, showing how responsible development can uplift communities, drive economies, and enhance the environment.

For more information, please visit: www.redseaglobal.com

About Archer Aviation

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.

Source: Archer Aviation
Text: ArcherIR

Archer Aviation Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Archer Aviation’s future business plans, expectations, and opportunities. These statements include those regarding its design and target specifications of its aircraft, the pace of design, development, certification, testing, manufacturing and commercialization of its planned eVTOL aircraft, or its ability to do so at all; air taxi network buildout; and plans and anticipated benefits of acquisitions, strategic investments, and collaborations with third parties. In addition, this press release refers to a memorandum of understanding that remains conditional, subject to the future execution of definitive agreements and the satisfaction of certain conditions. Such agreements may not be completed or may contain different terms than those currently contemplated. 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 (“SEC”), including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 13, 2025, and its most recent Form 10-Q filed on November 6, 2025, which is or will be available on its investor relations website at investors.archer.com and on the SEC website 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.

Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft during a recent test flight in the Middle East

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — People set fire to an Ebola treatment center in a town at the heart of the outbreak in eastern Congo on Thursday after being stopped from retrieving the body of a local man, a witness and a senior police officer said, as fear and anger grow over a health crisis that doctors are struggling to contain.

The arson attack in Rwampara reflects the challenges of health workers trying to curb a rare Ebola virus by using stringent measures that might clash with local customs, such as burial rites. The disease has been spreading for weeks in a region lacking in health facilities and where armed conflict has displaced many people.

The dangerous work of burying suspected victims is being managed wherever possible by authorities because the bodies of those who die from Ebola can be highly contagious and lead to further spread when people prepare bodies for burial and gather for funerals.

That policy can be extremely unpopular with victims' families and friends, who aren't given the chance to bury their loved ones.

The center in Rwampara was burned by local youths who became angry while trying to retrieve the body of a friend who had apparently died of Ebola, according to a witness who spoke to The Associated Press by telephone.

“The police intervened to try to calm the situation, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful,” said Alexis Burata, a local student who said he was in the area. "The young people ended up setting fire to the center. That’s the situation.”

An AP journalist saw people break into the center and set fire to objects inside and also to what appeared to be the body of at least one suspected Ebola victim that was being stored there. Aid workers fled the treatment center in vehicles.

Deputy Senior Commissioner Jean Claude Mukendi, head of the public security department, Ituri Province, said it was due to youths who didn't understand the protocols required for burying suspected Ebola victims.

“His family, friends, and other young people wanted to take his body home for a funeral even though the instructions from the authorities during this Ebola virus outbreak are clear," Mukendi said. "All bodies must be buried according to the regulations."

Hama Amadou, the field Coordinator for the humanitarian organization ALIMA, which had teams working at the center, said later that calm had been restored and the aid teams were continuing their work at the center.

The flash of anger underlined the complications faced by both Congolese authorities and an array of aid agencies trying to stem an outbreak the World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency of international concern.

There are 148 suspected deaths and nearly 600 suspected cases, according to the U.N., with two cases including one death in neighboring Uganda. But the head of the WHO has said the outbreak is almost certainly much larger and has also expressed concern over the speed of the spread.

The risk of the outbreak spreading globally is low, the WHO has said, but high regionally with the Ituri Province at the center of the outbreak bordering Uganda and South Sudan.

“The priority now is to act quickly and work closely with communities, as the coming days are critical,” said Ariel Kestens, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies delegation in Congo.

Health workers and aid groups have said they are in dire need of more supplies and staff to respond. Also, there is no available vaccine or medicine for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak.

An expert said this week it would be at least six to nine months before one would be available.

The virus spread undetected for weeks following the first known death in late April as Congolese health authorities tested for a different Ebola virus more commonly responsible for outbreaks in the country.

On Thursday, the M23 rebel group that controls parts of eastern Congo reported a confirmed case near the major city of Bukavu, some 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the outbreak’s epicenter in Ituri Pronvince. The person died, M23 said in a statement.

As well as Ituri, other cases had been confirmed in North Kivu province and two in Uganda. But the announcement by M23 was the first confirmation of a case in South Kivu.

Health officials have not yet found “patient zero,” according to the WHO.

Investigations are continuing into the source of the outbreak, but “given the scale, we are thinking that it has started probably a couple of months ago,” said Anaïs Legand, a viral hemorrhagic fevers expert at the WHO.

India and ​the ⁠African Union said Thursday that the ⁠India-Africa ⁠Forum Summit, scheduled to be held next week in ‌New ​Delhi, had been postponed due to ⁠the “evolving health situation in parts of Africa.”

On Wednesday, Congo’s soccer team canceled a three-day World Cup preparation training camp and a planned farewell to fans in the capital Kinshasa because of the Ebola outbreak.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that any flights carrying American citizens or U.S. permanent residents who had visited Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days would be redirected to Washington Dulles International Airport from Thursday, where there would be enhanced Ebola screening.

The U.S. had already put in place restrictions banning other travelers who had been in those three countries in the previous 21 days from entering the U.S.

Pronczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal and Imray from Cape Town, South Africa. Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva; Jean Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo; and Wilson McMakin in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.

For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

A health worker prepares an Ebola treatment center at the General Hospital in Bunia, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The remains of a body lie on the ground at an Ebola treatment center after it burned down in Rwampara, Ituri province, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)

A woman mourns her child, who died of Ebola, at the General Hospital in Bunia, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A U.S. doctor, who was in contact with people infected with Ebola in Uganda, arrives in a hospital in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A convoy of emergency vehicles in Schönefeld, Germany, transports the family of a U.S. national who tested positive for Ebola in Congo, from the airport to where the patient is being examined in a special isolation ward of the Charite hospital in Berlin, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (Michael Ukas/dpa via AP)

Red Cross workers carry the body of a person who died of Ebola into a coffin at a health center in Rwampara, Congo, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A woman cries as Red Cross workers carry the coffin of a person who died of Ebola from a health center in Rwampara, Congo, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)