Driverless airport shuttles in Tallinn drop onboard safety operators
Auve Tech hopes remote supervision will make its service commercially viable, with a break-even point of around three vehicles per operator.
MiCa shuttles supplied by Estonia’s Auve Tech are now making journeys past parked aircraft at Tallinn Airport without carrying safety operators. The service transports personnel, equipment and spare parts for Magnetic MRO, connecting the aircraft maintenance company’s hangars on opposite sides of the airfield.
The change follows trials launched in 2023 and the start of commercial operations in 2025, when onboard supervision was still required. Auve Tech Fleet Operations Lead Deivis Sepp said the airport’s safety board examined performance data each week during testing.
The electric MiCa can accommodate up to eight passengers. Its Level 4 self-driving capability is restricted to defined operating conditions: at the airport, it travels along a fixed, mapped route rather than moving freely among aircraft. Seven laser-based sensors and ten cameras monitor its surroundings.
Driving decisions remain with the shuttle, while a human monitors it remotely. Sepp said a glitch prompts the vehicle to seek the remote operator’s permission. Taavi Rõivas, Chairman of Auve Tech’s Supervisory Board, said commercial viability depends on removing onboard operators. He estimated that supervising around three vehicles remotely would allow the service to match human-driven transport costs.
Magnetic Group CEO Risto Mäeots put annual travel between the hangars at almost 50,000 kilometres. He said spare-parts transport had proved equally important as moving people, although conventional vehicles remain necessary for bulky loads.
Auve Tech is seeking to extend the service to other sites, including closed environments such as corporate campuses. Rõivas said airport representatives visit Tallinn roughly once a week to examine the operation, with some considering VIP transport or journeys between gates.
