How autonomous vehicles can herald a new era for airports
18 July 2024
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) used to transport passengers to and from airports can help usher in a new age for those airports facing space constraints, staffing issues, and rising passenger demand, says a new report.
The whitepaper, produced by Cities Today Studio in partnership with May Mobility, highlights how although different forms of AVs have been in operation at airports for several years it was not until December 2023 that AVs became a public transport option to get to and from the airport.
Phoenix breaks the mould
It was then that Phoenix Sky Harbor became the first airport in the world to provide AV shuttles for passengers and create a revenue stream to and from the airport. Phoenix autonomous airport numbers now average 200 trips a day. Monthly trips with the service have risen from under 1,000 at the launch in 2023, to more than 7,500 in March 2024.
“AVs are going to make our roadways smoother and safer,” says Michael O’Shaughnessy, Deputy Aviation Director for Operations, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. “Around an airport where you have a large volume of traffic, a lot of congestion, with people in a hurry, that’s when people make mistakes. I think we’ll see [AVs] as a benefit to the flow at any congested airport.”
Improving the travel experience
David Carroll, from May Mobility – an AV provider that has successfully partnered with transit agencies, cities, states and The University of Texas, Arlington – says interest from airports is increasing and reveals that at a recent airport conference, even though there were no specific sessions on AVs, driverless vehicles came up in almost every session.
“Airports are looking to improve, and there’s been a mindset change that, ‘Hey, if we can make it better for our employees and for our customers, if it’s safer and cost effective’, you’ll naturally see [AVs] rise at more airports,” he says.
Since 2017, May has successfully launched in partnership with numerous public transit operators and cities, and given that many airports are linked to public transport, the company sees airports as a natural progression.
“Airports are a crucial component of our communities,” Carroll says. “They connect the world and they bring people together. My biggest concern is that airports haven’t thought about the potential of AVs apart from robotaxis. The travel experience is a stressful one so how can automating various aspects of it make the travel experience better? We want to not only provide the convenience of an AV but minimise congestion and encourage people to take shared trips to and from the airport.”
Dallas’ roadmap to autonomy
At Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Jodie Brinkerhoff, Vice President of Innovation, is focused on a roadmap to autonomy to de-risk the future of the airport. As well as driving technologies and programmes forward, her role is also to think about new business models, new ways to interact with customers, and to grow a culture of innovation at the airport.
As early as 2018 the airport drew up a strategic plan that included the future of autonomy.
“We’re developing a future with realistic business use cases that can impact the airport in a reasonable period of time,” she explains. “How might we take advantage of everything that technology offers to enhance the customer or employee experience?”
Pittsburgh to conduct more landside AV testing
And in Pittsburgh, the airport’s xBridge programme is testing and demonstrating new technologies for the global aviation industry, not only for the all-important customer experience but to positively impact revenues, operations, security, and sustainability.
Until now, a lot more time, resources and research has been conducted into the use of AVs airside which is more complicated, slower moving and more highly regulated. This is now changing as the organisation will soon begin trials landside.
AVs can relieve human constraints
In a recent report, the Airports Council International forecast a demographic switch as baby boomers retire from the industry and automation may assist in the challenge of finding new recruits.
Since the pandemic many airports are finding it difficult to recruit due to greater job market and wage competition, the hassle of in-depth background and security checks, and intense levels of training.
“We’re coming to realise that within our airport space there’s not a significant amount of human capital resources available at times to support the demand and need,” says Maurice Jenkins, Chief Innovation Officer, Miami-Dade County, Aviation Department. “It’s not about autonomous vehicles or robots replacing human capital but enhancing the functionality and the business requirements of human capital and being able to create a better synergy to get optimal performance.”
Managing increased throughput
The paper argues that autonomous vehicles have already proven that they can do more than navigate city streets. Specialised autonomous microtransit can deliver on-demand mobility services within specific zones that help people have quick and reliable access to critical locations around a community or organisation. Parking shortages, shuttle reliability and traffic congestion can all impact travel experience, not to mention the challenges that come when using a wheelchair.
“Whichever airport you fly out from, their numbers are growing tremendously,” says Jenkins. “If you’re looking at the airport footprint, you can only do so much in the finite footprint. To leverage technology, business process improvements, that’s where innovation [such as AVs] can come in and be able to deal with that increased throughput of individuals.”
Although many airports are still working on the business case to help predict the future in terms of opportunities to scale AVs, the impact of driverless vehicles could go well beyond offering a mobility service.
O’Shaughnessy believes Phoenix has helped break the mould in understanding how the technology can be applied.
“I’ve been around this industry for 35 years and autonomous vehicles are the way of the future,” he says. “We’ll see them grow and expand, and with new vehicles and new capabilities. As people start to understand the benefits they can have to traffic, in years to come this will be the norm, not the exception.”
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