SATS Airport Services Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SATS Ltd, (SATS), the world’s largest provider of air cargo handling services and Asia’s pre-eminent provider of food solutions, SIA Engineering Company Limited (SIAEC), a leading aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service provider in Asia-Pacific and Changi Airport Group (CAG), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to start a proof of concept (POC) on the use of autonomous buses to transport airport staff around Changi Airport’s airside.

The initial two-year collaboration, co-funded under the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS)’s Aviation Development Fund (ADF), aims to contribute to Singapore’s journey to become a Smart Nation – the Government’s vision for a digital-first Singapore that leverages technology to improve health, transport, urban living, government services and businesses.

The POC, commencing in the third-quarter of 2024, will validate the self-driving capabilities of the autonomous bus to gain confidence of its operational and safety performance. Monitored by an on-board safety driver, the POC will be conducted in two phases – the first phase in a sterile environment, before the second phase in the live operational environment.

This collaboration is part of Changi Airport’s collective effort to automate routine driving tasks so that airside professionals can focus on more complex activities, while presenting opportunities for job redesign and upskilling. The parties hope the POC will also encourage the wider development and deployment of autonomous solutions to improve airside manpower productivity.

“SATS is excited to partner CAG and SIAEC to trial the use of autonomous buses for airside staff transport with support from CAAS. This initiative presents the opportunity to develop the operating model for autonomous bus deployment in a live environment and gather data and learnings in readiness to scale autonomous airside staff transport operations,” said Henry Low, Chief Operating Officer SATS and CEO-designate SATS Singapore Hub.

“This partnership furthers SATS Group’s vision of transforming aviation hub handling through digitalisation and automation, and we are proud to be an Automation@Changi partner to harness technology and contribute to Singapore’s Smart Nation journey”, said Mr Low.

SATS Group and its global affiliate companies are also investing in several POCs of autonomous guided vehicles. This includes trials of automated airside cargo transportation vehicles and automated forklifts in airport operations and cargo terminals in Europe.

“SIA Engineering Company is excited to be part of this trial for an innovative bus service solution. As a member of the Changi Airport community, we are pleased to collaborate with SATS, CAG and CAAS to transform staff mobility at the airside.

Advancing digitalisation and technology adoption is a key priority in SIAEC’s Continuous Improvement journey. Through seamless integration of autonomous buses into airport operations, we aim to raise workforce productivity, improve road safety and in the longer term, optimise airside vehicle numbers to reduce congestion. This trial will allow us to understand technology aspects as well as future concept of operations to fulfill staff transportation needs at the airside,” said Mr Foo Kean Shuh, Executive Vice President Operations and Chief Sustainability Officer, SIA Engineering Company.

Mr Yeo Kia Thye, Managing Director, Airport Operations Control, Changi Airport Group said, “CAG is excited to be on this innovation journey with our airport partners to trial the use of autonomous buses on the airside. This complements ongoing automation trials, such as the use of autonomous vehicles for baggage transportation and automated Passenger Loading Bridge, to drive greater manpower productivity across our airport operations. We look forward to collaborating on further innovation trials towards our vision of an airport of the future.”