Air India is world’s 1st carrier to use TaxiBot on flight with passengers
Air India has become the first global airline to use a TaxiBot or a taxiing robot to tow an Airbus A-320 commercial flight with passengers on board.
A TaxiBot is a pilot controlled semi-robotic tow bar-less aircraft tractor used as an alternative taxiing equipment.
On Tuesday, the Air India Delhi-Mumbai flight 665 used a TaxiBot to tow it to the runway.
It tows the aircraft from the parking bay to the runway with the plane’s engines shut.
This helps protect the environment as a Boeing 737 or Airbus A-320 aircraft can take up to 11 to 13 minutes to taxi when it is likely to burn over 200 litres of aviation turbine fuel (ATF).
According to Air India, using TaxiBots will bring down the consumption of fuel by as much as 85 per cent during taxiing.
