KOCHI:
GoAir, India’s fastest growing airline, has successfully tested TaxiBot – a semi-robotic pilot-operated tow vehicle – at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.
Thus GoAir has joined the global league of airlines that are planning to use TaxiBots to reduce fuel combustion as well as noise pollution. Rather than the conventional system where the GoAir pilot switches on the engine to take the plane from parking bay to the runway, in future, the pilots will use TaxiBots to transport GoAir aircraft to the runway without switching the engine on. Besides, TaxiBots will also ensure faster turnaround and result in better on-time- performance.
Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir, said: “GoAir has always been at the forefront of using technology for the benefit of passengers, environment and the airline’s business. In 2016, GoAir doubled its order for Airbus A320neo (new engine option) to 144 – these aircraft offer approximately 20% better fuel efficiency. Now, it is the time for TaxiBots – GoAir plans to deploy TaxiBots at all the major airports within the next few quarters.”
GoAir currently operates 325+ daily flights and carried around 13.91 lakh passengers in the month of August 2019. GoAir flies to 24 domestic destinations including Ahmedabad, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kochi, Kolkata, Kannur, Leh, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Ranchi and Srinagar. GoAir flies to 7 international destinations, including Phuket, Male, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bangkok and Kuwait, with Singapore to take-off soon.
