Manufacturer touches down with ‘milestone’ American airport deal

Aurrigo International has secured its first American aviation operation which it hopes will be the first milestone in a key target market.

The Coventry-headquartered company makes autonomous vehicles, and has found a niche in the aviation, ground handling and cargo industries.

It is already working with British Airways owner IAG in the UK and has now extended the partnership to deploy its autonomous aviation solutions at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Aurrigo has a separate partnership with Changi Airport Group in Singapore.

David Keene, chief executive of Aurrigo, said: “This partnership is an important milestone for us as it will be our first aviation operation in the US – a key target market.

“We’re pleased to be partnering with IAG beyond the UK and to be building a presence at a key international airport.”

The American partnership will initially be worth $290,000 (£230,000) and will see a three-month evaluation and simulation phase followed by a demonstration phase and an initial deployment.

Aurrigo expects this will then lead to the likely deployment of a small fleet next year at the airport, which handles around 8m passengers each year.