British Airways parent group signs deal with transport tech firm
Transport technology solutions provider Aurrigo has signed a partnership agreement with International Airlines Group, as it looks to roll out its products within the UK.
IAG is one of the world’s largest airline groups, with a fleet of 558 aircraft, operating 256 destinations and carrying around 94 million passengers each year. The listed firm counts brands such as British Airways, Aer Lingus and Vueling as part of the group.
Plans for the partnership include the development of the Auto-DollyTug baggage vehicle, Aurrigo’s innovative baggage transportation solution for airports as well as the Auto-Cargo air-freight vehicle and Aurrigo’s Auto-Sim aviation operations simulation software.
The first project and deployment of Aurrigo’s vehicles under the trial programme, which will be undertaken at a large UK airport, will be valued at £250k.
UPS and Aurrigo are also partnering to introduce Auto-Cargo, an autonomous electric vehicle designed for transporting heavy cargo between aircraft and the UPS hub at East Midlands Airport, the UK’s second-largest cargo terminal.
David Keene, CEO of Aurrigo, said: “This Partnership with one of the world’s largest airline groups is a great endorsement of the capabilities of our technology and the potential of automation to improve efficiencies and solve the challenges facing modern aviation.
Jorge Saco, Chief Information, Procurement, Services, and Innovation Officer at IAG, added: “IAG is dedicated to supporting innovation which can transform aviation efficiencies and improve ground operations. Automation at airports is a key focus for us and having assessed our options we are pleased to be working with Aurrigo.
“We first trialled the prototype Auto-Dolly in 2019 and after revisiting it post-Covid, we were impressed by how far their vehicle capabilities have progressed. We look forward to this technology helping to build our leadership position in aviation automation”.
