Six airports in Russia are set to begin testing autonomous airport vehicles – transport tractors and cleaning machines. A decree has been signed establishing an experimental legal regime (ELR) in the field of digital and technological innovation. The document was drafted by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, according to the ministry’s website.
The ELR will cover the transport security zones of six airports: in Krasnodar (Pashkovsky), Krasnoyarsk, Moscow (Vnukovo), St. Petersburg (Pulkovo), Sochi (Adler) and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Khomutovo).
“Autonomy delivers benefits not in some abstract future, but in day-to-day operational routines: aprons, towing and aircraft servicing. It makes a significant contribution to improving airport productivity. The pilot project allows us to test such solutions in an environment where the cost of error is high and security and information protection requirements are at their highest,” said Maksim Kolesnikov, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia.
The trial is scheduled to last three years. These vehicles are equipped with comprehensive positioning and safety systems, including lidar, radar, video cameras and satellite communications, a dispatch system, as well as the necessary information security measures.
Over the three years of the programme, the plan is to accumulate at least 24,000 operating hours and complete at least 96,000 tasks.
Leonid Sergeev, Chief Executive of Pulkovo Airport, noted that the airport is fully prepared for the start of testing. In the first phase, tests will be carried out on unmanned baggage tugs, snow-clearing vehicles for the runways and grass-mowing machines. He estimates that the introduction of autonomous vehicles will increase productivity by at least 25 per cent and deliver annual savings in operating costs of over US$1.8 million.