Latest news with #AurrigoInternational
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
World first driverless BUS to ferry holidaymakers between terminals at major UK airport is unveiled
HOLIDAYMAKERS will soon be ferried between terminals in the world's first driverless bus at a UK airport. The eight-seater auto shuttle will trial at Teeside International Airport from October. 2 A £1 million deal between the airport and Aurrigo International Plc will see the bus ferry passengers between terminals, while an Auto-Dolly Tug - designed to ferry cargo instead of passengers - will be trialled in January. Managing Director at Teesside International Airport, Phil Forster, said the technology would make moving bags from check-in to planes seamless. But Aurrigo's Auto-Shuttle will be tested before it carries any passengers across the tarmac. It's hoped that, if successful, the new vehicles will transform the way passengers are moved around the airport. And they could be shuttling passengers to their flights as early as 2026. Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, told the BBC: "These vehicles arriving in just a couple of months' time are a huge boost and I'm excited to see them serving holidaymakers on our year-round flights in the New Year." The futuristic vehicles come to the airport after plans were announced earlier this year to invest £2 million to build a facility that would construct and test trackless trams. The Tees Valley Combined Authority hopes the facility would allow driverless vehicles to be put to work in town centres by the end of 2027. He went on to say that the tech will likely have an impact on the whole aviation industry. Aurrigo has deployed its driverless vehicles across the world before but has never trialled them at a live airport. The firm's test will mark a world first as the driverless buses take to the tarmac. Driverless buses have previously been used in Scotland but never deployed to an airport before. The new technology allows for operating costs to be reduced with no need to pay drivers. Driverless vehicles are still relatively new and untested technology and are yet to be rolled out nationwide.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Driverless vehicles trial to carry Teesside travellers to planes
Holiday-goers at an airport will be carried to their planes by driverless vehicles following a £1m International Airport has signed a contract with Aurrigo International Plc, which will trial its eight-seater Auto-Shuttle at the site from company will also test its Auto-Dolly Tug, which has been designed to carry cargo and bags around airports, from Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the trial would bring jobs and investment to the region and put Teesside on the map for "cutting-edge innovation". If the trials are successful, passengers could be transported to their flights by the driverless vehicles from early 2026."These vehicles arriving in just a couple of months' time are a huge boost and I'm excited to see them serving holidaymakers on our year-round flights in the New Year," Houchen said. Earlier this year, the airport announced plans to invest £2m to construct a new facility focused on testing and building "trackless trams".The Tees Valley Combined Authority said it hoped the facility would allow driverless vehicles to operate in town centres by the end of vehicles will complete trial runs at the new test centre before they are moved airside. Airport managing director, Phil Forster, said the new technology would allow bags to move from check-in to the planes "more seamlessly, and in an even greener way"."It will also help us shape how we move passengers around Teesside in the future and will likely have an impact on the whole aviation industry," he CEO David Keene said the company's vehicles had been deployed across the world but this would be the first time they were integrated at a "live airport". Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
