July 16, 2025
by
Jonathan Andrews
Dubai World Central–Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) has launched a fleet of autonomous baggage tractors in a move designed to enhance operational safety, efficiency and resilience as part of the airport’s wider digital transformation strategy.
The six electric vehicles are now operating live airside at DWC, replacing traditional manually driven baggage tractors on defined routes between the terminal and aircraft. The rollout marks one of the aviation sector’s first deployments of autonomous ground support equipment (GSE) at this scale, moving beyond trial phase into regular day-to-day use.
“This is an important step forward for both dnata and the wider aviation industry,” said Jaffar Dawood, Divisional Senior Vice President for UAE Airport Operations at dnata. “While autonomous vehicles have largely been limited to trials, this deployment brings the technology into regular, day-to-day operations. As global travel continues to rebound and operational demands increase, automation could be key to building smarter, safer and more resilient infrastructure.”
The technology, developed by TractEasy, allows the autonomous EZTow tractors to transport up to four baggage containers at a time, travelling at speeds of up to 15 km/h. Initially launched at Level 3 autonomy–with minimal human oversight–the fleet is expected to transition to full self-driving Level 4 operation in early 2026.
The project represents a AED 6 million (US$ 1.6 million) investment and is being positioned as a testbed for wider use of autonomous vehicles across the airport’s operations. DWC, which is undergoing major expansion, is eventually expected to become the world’s largest airport, with capacity for up to 260 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo annually.
The deployment was developed in collaboration with Dubai Airports, dnata, the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority and TractEasy, and has also helped shape regulatory frameworks for autonomous GSE in the region. These insights may prove vital as other airports look to integrate similar technologies into their own operating environments.
“Autonomous GSE adoption is taking off,” said Rich Reno, TractEasy’s CEO. “TractEasy is proud and excited to partner with an industry leader like dnata and blaze a safe and efficient autonomous trail for others to follow.”
