Autonomous Shuttle Pilot Program Launches at Brussels Airport

Brussels in Belgium has become the latest city to trial an autonomous electric shuttle at its airport.

In a first for the country, the self-driving bus will operate on a pilot basis for three months, moving airport employees across the tarmac adjacent to the runways.

To ensure the safe phasing in of the program, it will stick to a predetermined, designated route that has been created to complement existing services and ensure the AV does not get in their way.

The bus, which has been built by New Zealand company Ohmio, can accommodate up to eight employees per ride, and a steward, or safety monitor, will be on board to oversee proceedings.

Auckland-based Ohmio is becoming something of a leader in autonomous airport shuttles, having already embarked on successful deployments at two of the world’s busiest facilities, Schiphol in Amsterdam in March of this year and JFK in New York City In July.

At Brussels, the maximum speed will be pegged to just over 15 mph and autonomous functionality will be made possible by the bus’s array of sensors and cameras that monitor surroundings and anticipate obstacles and other road users. There is also potential for the shuttle to be remotely controlled, by way of Brussels Airport’s advanced 5G network.

Once the pilot is complete, its success – or otherwise – will be evaluated and analyzed to help decide whether the airport might want to use autonomous transport in the future. As part of this, the employees who use the shuttle on a regular basis will be quizzed for feedback about their experiences.

Related:Self-Driving Shuttles Coming to New York’s JFK Airport

Although Brussels is not one of Europe’s busiest airports – ranking 26^th on the continent in 2023 for passenger numbers – it still had in excess of 22 million visitors, so the pilot will be a significant one.

Arnaud Feist, the airport CEO, said: “As an intermodal hub, Brussels Airport is dedicated to fostering seamless collaboration between various modes of transport. This pilot project aligns seamlessly with that strategy, marking a significant step forward in advancing innovative and sustainable mobility at the airport. 

“Moreover, the electric shuttle aligns with our ambition as an airport operator to achieve zero CO2 emissions by 2030.”

The pilot is part of the Stargate program, an initiative chosen by the European Commission to develop and test solutions for more sustainable aviation. Brussels is the lead airport participating, although Athens in Greece, Budapest in Hungary and Toulouse in France are also involved.