On 15th of October the national carrier Air India became the first airline in the world to use a Taxibot on a A320 aircraft with passengers onboard. Taxibot is a robot-used aircraft tractor for taxiing an aircraft from parking bay to runway and vice versa. On Tuesday morning, Chairman and Managing Director of Air India Ashwani Lohani flagged off flight AI665 – which was carried to runway using Taxibot at terminal 3 of the Delhi airport – to Mumbai.
With Taxibot it is possible to tow an aircraft from the parking bay to the runway with its engines switched off. It is a pilot controlled semi-robotic towbarless aircraft tractor used as an alternate taxiing equipment.”The use of Taxibot on the Air India aircraft at Indira Gandhi International Airport is the first such usage on any Airbus aircraft in the world. In fact this is an achievement to be proud of. A giant step forward towards a cleaner environment,” Lohani said.
As said by an Air India spokesperson “Taxibot saves precious fuel and reduces engine wear and tear. The ignition will be turned only when the aircraft reaches the runway.” These Taxibots will be used for departing flights only, he added.
The usage of Taxibots will significantly bring down the consumption of fuel by as much as 85 per cent used during taxiing of an aircraft. Taxibots will also help in decongesting boarding gates and the apron area by providing efficient pushbacks, he further added.
