UK regional gateway Teesside Airport is partnering with Aurrigo International – a Partner of the FTE Baggage Innovation Working Group – to host a driverless baggage and passenger transport system. The autonomous system will begin a pilot at Teesside Airport this autumn. It could mean passengers and bags being transported around Teesside Airport by cutting-edge autonomous vehicles from early in 2026.
Aurrigo’s eight-seater Auto-Shuttle passenger vehicle will begin trial activities in October, while an Auto-DollyTug – a driverless way of moving cargo and bags around airports – is set for operation in January. Teesside will be the only airport in the world where both autonomous cargo and passenger vehicles will be operating.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to see Teesside Airport hosting more world-leading technology and chalking up another UK – and global – first,” said Phil Forster, Managing Director, Teesside Airport. “To have this technology in place early next year will mean bags will travel from check-in to plane even more seamlessly, and in an even greener way. It will also help us shape how we move passengers around Teesside in the future – and will likely have an impact on the whole aviation industry. We were first in the UK to install new security scanners to allow passengers to keep liquids and electronics in bags, and now we’re leading the world in driverless cargo and bag systems with Aurrigo.”
Initially, the groundbreaking technology will start landside at a new test centre mapping out routes and completing trial runs before moving airside.
“We are really excited to bring our autonomous technology to the North East,” said David Keene, CEO, Aurrigo International. “Our Auto-Shuttle and Auto-DollyTugs are being deployed all across the world, but this will be the first time that we have integrated them together at a live airport. It’s a real sign of intent from Teesside International Airport and the Tees Valley Combined Authority.”
Hear more from Aurrigo at FTE Global – the “CES of Aviation” taking place in Long Beach, California, on 9 to 11 September 2025. Miles Garner, Director of Sales and Marketing, Aurrigo, will deliver a joint presentation alongside Brian Cobb, Chief Innovation Officer, Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky International Airport, titled ‘Insights and recommended practices from CVG on planning and scaling autonomous vehicle use at airports (Mapping, Testing, Modeling, Simulation, Testing, Deployment, Scaling. Rinse and repeat).
View the full FTE Global 2025 schedule at a glance >> Register for FTE Global 2025 >>You may also be interested in
12 technology and CX trends that can enhance airline and airport operations in 2025
