It’s already got driverless trains that take passengers from one terminal to another, now Gatwick is planning to introduce driverless buses that take them to their planes.
The airport is trialling ‘electric-powered autonomous vehicles’ for workers and says that if it’s successful it could lead to driverless baggage trucks and transport buses for passengers and an ‘Uber-style’ robot-car service for staff.
The trial is thought to be the first of its kind for any airport in the world.
Gatwick is trialling ‘electric-powered autonomous vehicles’, pictured, for workers and says that if it’s successful it could lead to driverless baggage trucks and transport buses for passengers and an ‘Uber-style’ robot-car service for staff
The airport says that its 300 airside vehicles are stationary 90 per cent of the time – as staff attend to aircraft and passengers, but that a trial of driverless cars will see workers shuttled between popular locations on the airfield when it starts later this summer.
It said in a statement: ‘The trial is thought to be the first of its kind for any airport in the world and – if successful and scaled up – could lead to airfield transport needs being met from a much smaller pool of autonomous vehicles, reducing the need for such large vehicle fleets, reducing emissions and saving on costs.
‘If the technology is proven in an airfield environment and following further trials, this project may be the precursor to a wide range of other autonomous vehicles being used on airport, including aircraft push back tugs, passenger load bridges, baggage tugs and transportation buses.’
