Today’s announcement that the UK government will fast-track commercial self-driving pilots by spring 2026 is a defining moment—not just for passenger transport, but for every sector that stands to benefit from autonomous innovation.
At Aurrigo, we see this as a vital step forward in unlocking the productivity, safety and environmental benefits of autonomy across the UK—and we’re proud to be among the companies helping shape this future from the ground up.
We’ve long believed the UK can be a global leader in smart, connected and autonomous transport. This update proves that ambition is turning into action:
✈️ In aviation, we’re already demonstrating autonomy’s power to tackle real challenges. Our Auto-DollyTug® is redefining baggage handling, helping reduce emissions, optimise turnaround times and boost safety—with trials deployments around the world.
📍 Our Auto-Sim® platform is helping airports and planners simulate, optimise and validate autonomous operations before deployment—bridging today’s operations with tomorrow’s automation.

This government commitment—paired with the Automated Vehicles Act—sends a strong signal to industry: the UK is serious about future mobility, and it’s ready to support innovation through world-leading regulation, real-world pilots and collaboration.
We look forward to continuing to work with government, industry partners and our global customers to ensure the UK not only keeps pace with autonomy—but leads it.
hashtag#AutonomousVehicles hashtag#FutureOfTransport hashtag#Aurrigo hashtag#SmartAirside hashtag#DriverlessT

A Coventry-based autonomous vehicle Operations Manager has been named as an ‘unsung hero’ in one of the industrial world’s most prestigious competitions.

Aurrigo International plc’s Ricky Raines was featured in The Manufacturer’s Top 100 manufacturing professionals last night at a high-profile event in Birmingham, impressing judges with the way he has helped lead the deployment of first and last mile driverless pods and shuttles and Auto-DollyTug® – the next generation of luggage dollies for aviation. 

The former hospitality worker has made the seamless switch into engineering and is now leaving his mark across the world, working with European cities and seven global airports, including Cincinnati, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Zurich.  Each location has had its own unique intricacies and route mapping to consider, including bringing together multiple stakeholders to ensure a safe deployment space that delivers the trial conditions and data required to support the integration of autonomous vehicles.

“When I joined Aurrigo eight years ago, I never thought for one minute I’d be named in the Top 100 manufacturing professionals in the UK…I’m just doing my job,” explained Ricky, who has overseen more than 5,000 hours of domestic and international testing.

“For me, it shows how far we come as a business and the fact that we are now viewed as one of the first companies in the world to be deploying our autonomous vehicles airside. This is some achievement from the 110 people we employ in Coventry and at our international bases in the US, Canada and Singapore.”

He continued: “There’s certainly been some challenges along the way, including managing lots of different stakeholders, evolving legislation and some good old fashioned bad weather. Thankfully we’ve even now developed a rainwater algorithm, which means Auto-DollyTug® can still operate in up to 50mm per hour of rain.”

There is little doubt that Ricky’s expertise has directly contributed to the expansion of Aurrigo’s autonomous vehicle solutions, increasing customer confidence and adoption across the company’s pods, shuttles and aviation vehicles.

In fact, the last twelve months has seen the business report a 33% increase in total revenues to £8.9m, including a staggering 433% rise in autonomous sales covering Auto-Sim® (a software platform for replicating airport activity) and Auto-DollyTug®, the latter responsible for moving luggage and cargo around.  Beyond deployments, the 32-year-old has also been a cornerstone of internal training and knowledge-sharing with the firm’s engineering department.

He has personally trained numerous team members and external partners in the safe operation of autonomous vehicles, bridging the gap between advanced engineering and practical implementation.  Professor David Keene, CEO of Aurrigo International, concluded: “While others may focus solely on their designated tasks, Ricky takes ownership of the broader success of each project, ensuring that our solutions are implemented safely and efficiently.

“His commitment to training, knowledge-sharing, and operational excellence has had a lasting impact on both the company and the wider industry. He fully merits inclusion into The Manufacturer’s Top 100!”

For further information, please visit www.aurrigo.com or follow the company on social media.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002cbb7

Did you catch Swissport CEO, Warwick Brady, on CNBC this morning?

Warwick joined Carolin Roth and Julianna Tatelbaum on Squawk Box Europe to talk about how we’re inventing the airport experience 2.0, starting with our first trial of Aurrigo autonomous ground handling technology at Zurich Airport.

We’re partnering with UK-based Aurrigo International to test a fully autonomous, electric vehicle designed to unlock new efficiencies in airside logistics. As a global leader, we’re shaping the future of ground support with a focus on digitalisation, AI, and automation.

Zurich is our biggest and most complex hub, so it’s the perfect place to trial this next-generation technology, built specifically for airside operations in complex environments.

At Swissport, we believe technology is key to driving the customer experience. The airport of tomorrow is being designed right now.

🎥 Catch the full interview here:

https://ow.ly/MfoT50W0Wcn

Did you catch our CEO, Warwick Brady, on CNBC this morning? Warwick… | Swissport

Did you catch our CEO, Warwick Brady, on CNBC this morning? Warwick joined Carolin Roth and Julianna Tatelbaum on Squawk Box Europe to talk about how we’re inventing the airport experience 2.0, starting with our first trial of autonomous ground handling technology at Zurich Airport.