1 June 2020: KLM recently conducted a trail for sustainable ways to Taxi aircraft by using a Taxibot. A taxibot is a hybrid towing vehicle licenced to tow full aircraft to near the start of the runway and is expected to reduce fuel consumption by 50 to 85 per cent.
This Taxibot is made available to KLM by Schiphol Airport to enable them to carry out joint research into more sustainable ways to taxi.
During the first test carried out few days back, an empty KLM Boeing 737 was towed to the runway by the Taxibot. On successful completion of the test KLM's project manager, Jeroen Jaartsveld said, "It's important to find out how far we can cut CO2 emissions by using the Taxibot. We'd also like to know how long it takes to taxi with the Taxibot, what effect this has on aircraft engine maintenance, and how we might introduce sustainable taxiing with Taxibots on a large scale into Schiphol's daily operations."
KLM's sustainability initiative, Fly Responsibly, launched last year, included a commitment to reducing carbon emissions caused by taxiing. This will contribute to KLM's ambition to cut its fleet's total carbon emissions by 15 per cent compared to 2005.