Passenger Terminal World | June 2025
Alex Grant
15 July 2025
Already gaining momentum within airport terminals, could automation be the key to more sustainable, efficient and robust ground handling?
Automation has become an important topic at the Lufthansa Innovation Hub, which is tasked with creating partnerships and shaping the conversations needed to aid deployment. Siddhant Mehra, a research and intelligence analyst at the facility, believes autonomous GSE could absorb repetitive tasks and demand spikes while reducing operational overheads and cutting CO2 emissions.
“Recent technological breakthroughs have significantly advanced the suitability of autonomous vehicles (AVs) for complex airport environments,” he explains. “Contextual artificial intelligence enables machines to interpret and respond to real-time environmental data with precision, navigating crowded and dynamic spaces such as gates and baggage claim areas.
“Complementing this are advances in sensor fusion and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, which combine inputs from lidar, radar and cameras with airport-specific data to ensure safe operations. However, airports face unique challenges in adopting such technologies, including operating within a highly regulated, safety-critical environment, where any airside deployment must undergo rigorous approval and testing.”...
Further details: Passenger Terminal World : June 2025
