Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam plans to purchase two TaxiBots to move aircraft from the gate to the runway instead of using their own jet power, according to operator Royal Schiphol Group. It’s part of the airport’s effort to reduce pollution and make operations more sustainable.
Airports in Delhi and Bangalore, India, have conducted trials with a special aircraft tow vehicle. And Lufthansa tested a TaxiBot seven years ago. But Schiphol is the first airport in the world that wants to introduce sustainable taxiing on a large scale.
The TaxiBot is a semi-robotic hybrid towing vehicle made by Smart Airport Systems under license from Israel Aircraft Industries for taxiing airplanes with their power off. The system is based on a vehicle that connects to the aircraft and is controlled by the pilot. The special towing vehicles can reduce fuel consumption and noxious emissions, including CO2, as much as 85% and reduce noise pollution by 60%, according to the company. And it improves efficiency by reducing wasted time at the gate during engine start-up, speeding up aircraft turn times.
A previous trial at Schiphol showed that sustainable taxiing leads to 50% less fuel consumption during taxiing, in the process lowering CO2, nitrogen oxides and ultrafine particle emissions. Given the distance involved, these fuel savings can reach up to 65% percent when aircraft taxi to Schiphol’s runway, the airport operator said.
