Taxibots at Delhi airport? IGI set to do a first in India

In a bid to save fuel and curb pollution at airports, aviation regulatory body Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed the use of semi-robotic vehicles, taxibots to tow aircraft from the parking bay to the runway holding, said a PTI report, adding that the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in the national capital will be the first to have these vehicles.
 
The trial runs of the taxibots, remote controlled by pilots, will reportedly be conducted for Jet Airways and SpiceJet planes till the runway point. By mid-October, it will be put to commercial use, KSU Aviation, the operator of the vehicle said.
 
According to a KSU spokesperson, use of taxibots will cut down carbon dioxide emission drastically at the IGI airport, as 800 kg of carbon dioxide is usually emitted for every 15 minutes of taxiing by an aircraft. Referring to a study, the spokesperson said that globally, 80 million tons of carbon dioxide is emitted every year because of aircraft taxing in the airline space.
 
Talking about advantages of taxibots, he reportedly said that 85 per cent of the fuel consumed during taxiing can be checked, besides reducing noise level by 60 per cent, adding that taxibots could also reduce foreign object damage by 50 per cent since the engine remains shut, as per some independent studies.
 
The Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which has developed these alternative taxiing vehicles, has already announced an agreement with India-based KSU Aviation for use of taxibots, said the KSU spokesperson, adding "These are alternative taxiing solutions and would be used for towing only single-aisle aircraft. It would be sort of remote controlled by the pilot from the aircraft till the runway holding point and all the while the engine would remain shut, thus bringing down pollution." 
 
The first taxibot will reportedly be brought to Chennai this month and then transported to Delhi. 
 
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Last week, Civil Aviation Ministry informed Parliament that the DGCA has "accepted a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supplemental type certificate that allows taxibots to tow an aircraft from the parking bay to the runway holding point without using the main engines...".