Conference Agenda

The integration of autonomous vehicles into airport cargo ground operations faces regulatory and other challenges that hinder progress. Testing and deploying emerging technologies at airports (as critical infrastructure) require approvals that are difficult to obtain because airport ground operations are dynamic, largely unstructured, and characterized by mixed traffic. Despite the growing number of prototypes and solutions, many stakeholders remain hesitant to invest, resulting in missed opportunities to improve efficiency.

This paper presents a survey concept for 30 semi-structured interviews with international aviation experts, focusing on processes, technologies, safety and security, economics, and sustainability. The interviewees are members of a working group contributing to the revision of IATA’s Airport Handling Manual, Section 908 (AHM908), on autonomous ground support equipment (GSE). They are based in 13 countries across four IATA regions - Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific - and they represent seven IATA organization types - aircraft manufacturers, airports, civil aviation authorities, ground handling service providers, ground support equipment manufacturers, IATA airline members, and solution providers. Data collection and analytics are sensitive to safeguard anonymity and to preserve IATA’s neutrality in policymaking.

Main results will include structured perceptions of relevant stakeholder groups, organized by topic clusters, focus airports, and regulatory scenarios. We will explore strategies, approval processes, best practices, investment calculations, technical capabilities, barriers, and hesitation, among other topics. Several local automation initiatives should be mentioned by interviewees, providing valuable perspectives as well as different shades of uncertainty and hesitation. Our holistic approach contributes a novel perspective to automation research in airport operations. Having exclusive access to such a specialized industry working group allows for in-depth discussions with early movers from carefully selected visionary stakeholder organizations. This work will inform policymakers about frameworks to support the development and implementation of autonomous solutions, aiding adaptation to evolving demands and labor shortages in airport logistics. It is complemented by an exemplary investment calculation concept to explore the technology-innovation-business nexus as a central element linking technology development and innovation with operations and business realities at airports.