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Chicago

IL, US
#15 OF 25
LIVE·Data as of May 21, 2026·AIS · Methodology v1.3·Sources: FKB · MCS · OID · RPL · FPIS·Sourced from public records · Override audit trail available
35EARLY
How is this scored? · See factor breakdown →Score history →
Dec '25Jan '26
—
NEUTRALBURDEN: MODERATEBILLS MOVINGWX PARTIAL
SCORE BREAKDOWN
PILOT PROGRAM
0/15
VERTIPORT
0/15
OPERATORS
15/15
ZONING
0/15
REGULATORY
5/10
LEGISLATION
10/20
WEATHER
5/10
FACTOR TRENDS
Factor trend analysis is available on Professional.
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REGULATORY LANDSCAPEPosture + Burden · two parallel axes
PostureNEUTRALScoring · 10pts

Stance — how friendly state and municipal government posture is toward AAM infrastructure. Currently scored as a single weight in the AirIndex 7-factor model.

BurdenmoderateTracked · not yet scored

Illinois Aeronautics Act (620 ILCS 5/) requires Illinois DOT Division of Aeronautics licensing on top of FAA review. Chicago municipal aviation review and dense O'Hare/Midway Class B airspace add jurisdictional layers, but state process itself is moderate. Initial assessment pending verification.

First-pass assessment · pending credentialed-advisor verification
Burden measures process friction — documents, reviews, public notices, and time-to-approve. A state can be posture-friendly AND burden-heavy simultaneously (e.g., Florida has enacted UAM legislation but requires a 13-document packet for heliport approval). Methodology.
OPERATOR PRESENCE
Archer Aviation
TYPE
evtol manufacturer
HQ
San Jose, CA
FAA CERT
in progress
FUNDING
$1.1B
AIRCRAFT
Midnight
United AirlinesSouthwest AirlinesAbu Dhabi AviationNVIDIAStarlink
WEBSITE →
VERTIPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
No specific vertiport has been catalogued for this market yet.
See pipeline signals for this market →
AIR CORRIDORS
O'Hare – Downtown ChicagoPROPOSED
O'Hare International → Downtown Chicago
DISTANCE
25 km
FLIGHT TIME
12 min
MAX ALT
1500 ft
Archer/United targeting O'Hare as a launch corridor. Routing via I-90 corridor.
DETAILS →
KEY MILESTONES
▶Archer/United O'Hare corridor announced
▶Archer Abu Dhabi flight tests completed
▶United Airlines investment in Archer confirmed
▶IL HB3190 aeronautics bill on 2nd reading calendar
MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Archer targeting Chicago as a launch city with United Airlines partnership. ORD to downtown corridor proposed. Archer completed Abu Dhabi flight test campaign and has NVIDIA/Starlink partnerships accelerating autonomy development. IL HB3190 (AERONAUTICS-UNMANNED AIRCRAFT) on calendar for 2nd reading.

ALERT SUBSCRIPTIONS
LAST UPDATED 2026-05-21← BACK TO MARKETS
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