Brussels Airport and TUI fly are jointly testing a “taxi” that is being operated on a trial basis

Testing with the taxi began at the Belgian airport last week, after TUI fly pilots were the first to take a training course on it. With this system, planes no longer need to use their engines when taxiing: the robot pulls the plane.

In a statement, Brussels Airport calls the robot a “semi-automated truck” that is controlled by the pilot himself. “It is the only certified solution for sustainable taxis.” The system can work with aircraft from the Boeing 737 family and the Airbus A320 family.

The airport also says: “The biodiesel taxi drives the aircraft to its destination. The pilot remains in full control during the procedure and controls the brakes, just as during a regular taxi.”

Lower emissions
The aim is to test the truck on Brussels Airport runways over the next three months and “evaluate the benefits in this specific operational context”. The airport stresses that taxi operating times are relatively short, but robot taxis “can still have a positive impact on noise and emissions compared to taxiing on aircraft engines.”

Taxi speed doesn't change, but emissions do: the plane's fuel consumption per ground mileage is reduced by 85 percent, and the noise effect is reduced by 60 percent.

This initiative falls within the Stargate programme, an “ambitious project” of the European Commission as part of the Green Deal to test and develop solutions for more sustainable aviation.

Brussels Airport is the leader of the Stargate project and works with a consortium of 21 partners, including three European airports and several airlines.