Zurich – At Zurich Airport, a pilot project involving two shuttle buses has reached the highest level of automation: They now operate without a safety officer on board, away from the aircraft taxiways. The safety drivers who were previously on site are now monitoring operations remotely. The Robobus shuttles are manufactured by the Chinese company WeRide.
(CONNECT) In one month, employees at Zurich Airport will be able to travel between two operational buildings on a defined route using a fully autonomous shuttle bus. According to a statement from Flughafen Zürich AG, this will also mark the completion of the final test phase of Level 4 automation—the highest level now achieved—in which there is no safety driver on board. Employees of the partner companies Swissport and Krummen Kerzers monitor operations remotely from a so-called "remote cockpit" and can step in to provide support as needed.
“Automated driving doesn’t mean that people will disappear,” explains Raphaël Glaesener, Senior Innovation Manager at Flughafen Zürich AG. “But the tasks are changing. Operations will also become more efficient because, in the future, a single employee will be able to monitor multiple buses.”
The autonomous Robobus shuttles are manufactured by the Chinese company WeRide. It is headquartered in the industrial hub of Guangzhou. Since March 2025, Flughafen Zürich AG has been working with its technology partner to enable automated driving on the airport grounds. Aircraft taxiways are not crossed in the process.
“The gradual automation of vehicles can make an important contribution to airports in light of the looming shortage of skilled workers,” said Coralie Klaus Boecker, Head of the ZRH Innovation Hub at Flughafen Zürich AG. “It was therefore essential for us to lay the necessary groundwork early on. In doing so, we are creating the conditions for the safe operation of automated vehicles at the airport—not only for ourselves, but also for our partners.” ce/mm
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