The picture at East Midlands Airport
A licence to test, not a fleet in service
Autonomous vehicles have an obvious attraction at a cargo airport: repeated journeys between warehouses, aircraft and support areas. The difficulty is demonstrating safe and reliable operation on roads shared with people and other equipment.
In March 2026, Aurrigo announced that East Midlands had granted a ground-handling licence to support its autonomous equipment. Contemporary reporting described a proof of concept with two Auto-Cargo vehicles and one Auto-Shuttle for UPS-related work, and said no commercial contracts had yet been signed.
That gives the story useful boundaries. The airport has other new security and passenger-assistance technology, but those projects do not establish the same AI capability and should not be folded into a driverless operations narrative.
Selected implementations
The trial worth tracking
01 / Pilot
Moving cargo with an operator's permission
The operational problem
Airport cargo handling relies on frequent, repetitive vehicle movements where safety, routing and reliable handovers matter.
What the sources report
Aurrigo announced its ground-handling licence on 3 March 2026. Zag Daily described a proof of concept involving two Auto-Cargo units and one Auto-Shuttle, with permission reportedly running to 30 June 2026.
Why it matters
The trial could establish whether autonomous ground support works within the physical constraints and safety procedures of a busy cargo airport.
What remains unprovenThe available evidence does not confirm a successful trial outcome, continuing licence, paid commercial service or productivity gain.
Sources and verification (3)
The wider register
What else is happening at East Midlands Airport?
The completed security hall and passenger-assistance trial remain relevant airport technology but are not demonstrated AI freight deployments. A reported plan for passport-free biometric gates is still unverified in the register.
Passport-free biometric e-gate checks launching first at East Midlands Airport · Reported · unverified
Biometrics / border processing
Sources and verification (1)
East Midlands Airport next-generation security hall (GBP 120m programme) · Deployed
Sources and verification (2)
Passenger assistance technology pilot at East Midlands Airport · Pilot
East Midlands Airport said on 16 January 2025 that it would pilot new technology to make travel easier for disabled and older passengers, and that it would be the first UK airport to do so.
Sources and verification (1)
The next story is the result of the trial
An autonomous vehicle appearing at an airport is not the same as one taking routine operational responsibility.
For East Midlands, the useful next evidence is whether the ground-handling trial led to a continuing service and what safeguards were required.