As air travel continues to rebound post-pandemic, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, is rapidly returning to the skies - carrying more people and luggage with it than any other airliner. Its return to service provides challenges for operators and airports alike, with unparalleled quantities of passengers and cargo needing to be handled in minimal time and space. The scenario highlights the pressing need for the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of Aurrigo International PLC’s autonomous ground handling EVs.
Aurrigo International PLC develops and manufactures autonomous electric ground handling, logistics and security vehicles for the aviation industry. Its Auto-Dolly and Auto-DollyTug products are not only capable of seamlessly delivering up to 70,000 kg of baggage and cargo to and from commercial aircraft, but of loading and unloading themselves too, improving the efficiency of baggage delivery in airports big and small.
With airlines around the world mothballing their A380 fleets in the face of global travel restrictions, many industry analysts once predicted the writing to be on the wall for the Airbus ‘superjumbo’. But following a better than expected rebound from the unprecedented constraints, airlines are returning the unique double-decker to the skies, to maximize utilization of valuable landing slots at busy airports.
The flexibility provided by Aurrigo’s autonomous solutions allows airport operators to quickly and easily scale their baggage processing capacity to meet this demand. Able to work, day or night, in all conditions, the Auto-Dolly and Auto-DollyTug can help solve the current staff shortages impacting the air travel industry, while enabling greater efficiency and an improved passenger experience.
Commenting on the A380’s return Aurrigo CEO, David Keene, said: “The return of the A380 places a spotlight on the rapidly growing demand for commercial air travel. With July 2023 seeing the two busiest days for commercial aviation ever, it’s a trend which seems set to continue.
“The A380 is a magnificent aircraft and very pleasant to travel on, but its capacity for people and baggage does present a real challenge to ground handling operations. We firmly believe that the inherent efficiency and flexibility provided by our purpose-designed autonomous, electric baggage vehicles is needed now more than ever right across airport operations.
“After all, we have had autopilots on aircraft for over 100 years in the air, utilizing autonomous technology on the ground is surely well overdue.”
Aurrigo is working with airports around the world, including Changi Airport in Singapore, to integrate autonomous vehicles into baggage operations through the development and certification of its Auto-Dolly and Auto-DollyTug vehicles.
