DHL Supply Chain has successfully completed its first deployment of an autonomous vehicle in live airport traffic at Heathrow, covering 1,300km of self-driven operations over 14 days.

Using Oxa's autonomous software, the vehicle navigated Heathrow's complex airside environment without requiring specialist modifications.

According to DHL the project has been designed to optimise airside operations through innovative and sustainable methods with ambitions to drive efficiency across the inter-terminal baggage transfer service.

Gavin Payne, Director of Engineering and Baggage for Heathrow said he was excited to see what comes next and stated that "Intelligent autonomous logistics will play a key role in the future of operations at Heathrow.

“It was great to be able to support and join DHL, OXA, and the Heathrow team in achieving the first safe and significant step towards this vision,” he added.

Prior to deployment, the vehicle underwent extensive installation exercises to ensure safety and seamless integration.

It operated autonomously from the first day, continuously optimising performance and meeting all safety benchmarks throughout the two-week period.

Gavin Jackson, CEO, Oxa, said: “There are huge opportunities to modernise airport supply chains with intelligent, self-driving vehicles that improve the entire customer experience.”

Dan Peacock, Managing Director, DHL Supply Chain praised the company’s partnership with Oxa and added: “Our priority is to deliver an exceptional service to our customers that meets their unique needs, and this project supports Heathrow by modelling an innovative solution which could really help drive capacity safely and sustainably.

The logistics company described the initiative as a ‘test bed’ for automation to be used in further airport services.