Farewell to drivers: Zurich Airport introduces its first 100% autonomous buses

19/09/2026 10:30

Updated to

19/09/2026 10:30

Zurich Airport has taken another step toward implementing autonomous vehicles by launching operations of two driverless electric shuttles equipped with safety personnel on board. Developed in partnership with China’s autonomous driving specialist WeRide, this project allows the vehicles to operate within the airport premises in a controlled environment, with supervision from a remote control center.

The first fully automated operations began in early September, following a development and testing phase that had been ongoing since March 2025. The project was deployed gradually to meet the technical, security, and regulatory requirements needed to achieve the desired level of automation, covering more than 15,000 kilometers.

Now, driverless

The new phase is significant because the safety driver inside the vehicle is no longer needed, with supervision now being carried out from a remote control station located at the ZRH Innovation Hub. From there, an operator can monitor the operation of the shuttles and take action if a situation requiring assistance arises. The system is also designed to automatically stop the vehicle when it detects an unexpected obstacle, after which the remote operator can assess the situation and provide driving support if necessary.

The two shuttles follow a predetermined route within the airport area, a path that connects the employee entrance at gate 101 to the maintenance area located at gate 130, with several stops along the way. The vehicles do not cross aircraft runways during this route, which limits interaction with one of the airport’s most operationally complex areas.

Coralie Klaus Boecker, head of the ZRH Innovation Hub at Zurich Airport, said: “We are very pleased with this achievement. The gradual automation of vehicles can make a significant contribution to airports, given the growing shortage of qualified staff. Therefore, it was essential for us to lay the necessary foundations at an early stage. In this way, we are creating conditions, both for ourselves and our partners, that allow for the safe deployment of automated vehicles at the airport.”

For now, no passengers again

Although they already operate without a safety driver, the first phase of this Level 4 autonomy operation takes place without passengers. The goal is to test the performance of the shuttles in this new configuration before resuming employee transportation, which is expected to happen after a period of about four weeks.

The progress of the project shows that a gradual process of increasing autonomy has been implemented. The first phase began with a safety driver in the driving seat. Later, human supervision was moved to the back seat, and the role of remote control was gradually expanded until reaching the current situation, where there are no safety personnel inside the vehicles.

The project is initially planned to operate until the end of 2026, although partners are considering extending the program to include both units. The goal is not only to demonstrate that vehicles can operate autonomously but also to use the results from testing to determine how automated vehicle use could be expanded in the airport in the future.

"Autonomous driving doesn’t mean people will disappear, but tasks will change. Operations will also become more efficient, as in the future a single employee will be able to oversee several buses," says Raphaël Glaesener, Senior Innovation Manager at Zurich Airport.