Zürich Airport has deployed not one but two fully automated electric shuttle buses on the grounds of Zürich Airport. Crucially, these self-driving vehicles are operating without a human safety monitor, making Zürich one of the first airports in Europe to test L4 autonomy in a live environment.
Co-developed with the autonomous vehicles experts at Chinese brand WeRide, the project has been in development since March of 2025, where the shuttles have been put through their paces in a phased approach to ensure they meet the extensive regulations, safety requirements, and technical conditions the EU requires of L4 autonomy.
“Safety was and remains our top priority at all times,” says Raphaël Glaesener, Senior Innovation Manager, Zurich Airport Ltd. “That is why the first Level 4 trips will once again be carried out without passengers. However, we expect that after around four weeks of test operation, employees will be able to use the now fully automated shuttle.”
Having ticked all the boxes and jumped through all the hoops, Zürich’s new autonomous shuttle is now cleared to operate without a safety driver or safety monitor on board (but with remote monitoring for human teleoperation, as needed) at a level that, “corresponds to the targeted automation level, Level 4.”
Lights are on, but nobody’s home
“We are very pleased with this achievement,” explains Coralie Klaus Boecker, Head of the ZRH Innovation Hub at Flughafen Zürich AG. “The gradual automation of vehicles can make an important contribution for airports given the emerging shortage of skilled workers. For us, it was therefore essential to lay the necessary groundwork early on. In doing so, we are creating the conditions, not only for ourselves but also for our partners, for the safe deployment of automated vehicles at the airport.”
The vehicles are being deployed as part of a larger pilot program to help electrify and decarbonize standard operations throughout the airport, serving first as employee shuttles and operating on a defined route that does not cross aircraft taxi- and runway. Employees of the partner companies Swissport and Krummen Kerzers are involved, and each company provides its own remote operations monitor.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Zürich Airport; via Electrive.
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