Autonomous transport and logistic systems at airports

During the COVID-19 pandemic, international air travel came to a stillstand. Therefore, many people lost their job and left the aviation industry. Last year, and in particular this year, with most borders open for international air travel, air traffic volumes grow again and, in some cases, exceed pre-COVID levels. However, due to skilled people having left the aviation industry, there is a serious shortage of staff at airports and airlines. This does not only restrict capacity and leads to unacceptable long queues at airports, but it will also hinder the recovery of the aviation industry. Due to the current staff shortage, airports are looking for technological ways of fulfilling functions previously done by staff and thereby streamlining the transport and logistic processes at airports. One way of doing that, is to use autonomous transport and logistic systems at airports. This paper will discuss current autonomous systems at airports. The discussions will focus on safety and sustainability.