Kansai has become the latest airport to take up autonomous GSE as it deploys a driverless baggage tractor controlled by EasyMile’s technology.
The rollout of the autonomous vehicle aims to reduce the time between aircraft arrival and the start of baggage return, and contribute to ground handling workforce efficiency.
The trial is being conducted in collaboration with Peach Aviation Limited, Panasonic Holdings Corporation, Nagase Techno Service and Kansai Airports.
It is taking place within the ramp area of Terminal 2 and marks the first time level 4 autonomous GSE operations are being piloted at Kansai Airport.
The objective is to assess the practical application of autonomous towing vehicles in a live airport environment.
The demonstration is designed to evaluate the vehicle’s ability to detect and respond to pedestrians, stop and resume movement at crosswalks and navigate with precision in constrained spaces such as baggage return areas.
These functions are tailored to the operational demands of airport environments.
This initiative follows a remote-controlled vehicle test conducted at Kansai Airport in April 2023.
The current trial advances this work by integrating higher levels of autonomy, with the aim of exploring how such technologies can support labour savings and improve operational flow in airport ground handling.
In the long term, combining autonomous and remote-controlled systems could offer flexible fleet management solutions across multiple airport sites.
