Air India | World’s first airline to use TaxiBot on A320 aircraft

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National carrier Air India (AI) on Tuesday became thefirst airline in the world to use a TaxiBot on an Airbus A320 aircraftoperating a commercial flight with passengers onboard.

A TaxiBot or a Taxiing Robot is a pilot-controlledsemi-robotic towbar-less aircraft tractor used as alternate taxiing equipment.It is used for taxiing an aircraft from parking bay to runway and vice versa.

The aircraft of AI 665 Delhi-Mumbai flight, brought tothe runway at IGI airport's Terminal 3 using the TaxiBot, was flagged off byAir India CMD Ashwani Lohani on Tuesday morning.

Lohani said "The use of Taxibot on the Air Indiaaircraft at Indira Gandhi International Airport today morning is the first suchusage on any Airbus aircraft worldwide. Really an achievement to be proud of. Agiant step forward towards a cleaner environment".

The TaxiBot can tow an aircraft, with its enginesswitched off, from parking bays to the runway. This will help in saving fuel,bringing down consumption by as much as 85% used during taxiing of aircraft,said an official AI statement. It will further reduce wear and tear of theengine and curb carbon emission, thus improving air quality. The TaxiBots wouldalso help in decongesting boarding gates and apron area by providing efficientpushbacks.

Using TaxiBot is another initiave by AI Team to ensurea greener environment for flight operations, the statement added.

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