Autonomous Baggage and Air Taxis: How Airports Are Being Rebuilt for 2026

Not another delay! We’ve all said it while waiting for our flight. At times like these, it’s easy to forget how far we’ve come: from the first commercial flight in 1914 to nearly 10 billion passengers flying yearly in 2025.

Aviation and the terminal experience are changing faster than most people realise. Here are technologies being deployed in 2026 that are making airports more efficient.

Biometric & contactless passenger processing

Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi has partnered with biometric technology provider IDEMIA to enable passengers to move from check-in through border control to boarding using facial recognition. IDEMIA’s PaXpress Travel Suite uses multi-biometric entry/exit and single digital identity tokens to eliminate repeated document checks. IDEMIA has deployed 10,000 biometric equipment kits across more than 350 air, land and sea ports worldwide.

Robotics and automated ground operations

Autonomous machines are moving from test lanes to everyday airport operations. At Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport (CVG), Aurrigo has deployed autonomous baggage tractors (Auto-Dolly Tugs) to handle baggage transport to the terminal. This technology has also been deployed at Amsterdam Schiphol and Singapore Changi.

Other robotic technologies deployed at CVG include Ottonomy Inc for contactless delivery of orders to passengers, Avidbots Corp. for autonomous floor cleaning and ThorDrive autonomous vehicles.

AI-driven operations and predictive maintenance

A single minute of aircraft delay can cost an airline $100 or more in operational penalties. AI technologies optimise aircraft turnaround, enhance operational visibility and reduce delays.

London Heathrow Airport is working with Swiss startup Assaia to deploy their solution across 116 gates in Terminals 2, 3 and 5. The technology analyses camera feeds and generates real-time operational insights in ground operations (baggage unloading, refuelling, boarding), supporting handlers in decision making. At Rome Fiumicino, ApronAI has reduced ground delays by 6% and improved turnaround time by 4%.

Sustainability via renewable energy

Zurich Airport has signed a long-term offtake agreement with Synhelion, a Swiss cleantech startup producing solar-derived renewable fuels. Synhelion uses solar energy to convert water, carbon dioxide and methane from biogenic waste to produce syngas and then synthetic crude oil, which can be refined to produce renewable drop-in fuels. These fuels will power on-site airport vehicles and passenger buses. From 2027, Synhelion will also supply solar jet fuel to Swiss International Air Lines.

Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL)
In Dubai, Skyports Infrastructure has built the Dubai International Vertiport (DXV) adjacent to the airport. In partnership with Joby Aviation, Skyports will operate flights from the airport to Palm Jumeirah in 12 minutes, a trip that takes 45 minutes by car. With speeds up to 320 km/h and zero direct emissions, the service costs similarly to taxi rides. Skyports also has vertiport initiatives in downtown New York and Jeju Island, South Korea.

Dubai International Vertiport Project

The global advanced airport technologies market (including biometrics, automation, AI operations, etc.) is projected to grow from £22.5 billion in 2026 to £28.3 billion by 2031, driven by airports investing in efficiency, throughput and passenger experience.

We’d like to hear from you

If you’re active in the airport operations innovation space, whether as a founder, investor, coach, or tech partner, we’d love to connect. Reach out to robert@lmarks.com.