Decarbonizing Aviation Ground Operations 2025

Operating buses at airports1 Airport bus operations are influenced by several factors including airport size, the number of remote stands that require passengers to be transported between terminals and aircraft, airport business model, the number of travellers transferring between terminals and the number of staff movements. In very congested international hubs, terminal expansions may have extended outside the original airport boundaries, requiring airports to operate longer routes. All these factors affect the distance travelled and utilization rate of the buses (typically known as duty cycle), their lifetime, maintenance costs and ultimately their salvage value (the residual value of a bus when retired from service). This study considers these elements to better understand the TCO of alternative propulsion technologies. Airport bus operations can be categorized into two main groups: airside and landside, each serving a distinct function within the airport ecosystem (see Figure 1).1.1 Operating profile Landside and airside buses operations FIGURE 1 Landside Airside Airport accessAirport accessAirport accessRemote stand Terminal Taxiways Gates Runway Decarbonizing Aviation Ground Operations: Alternative Bus Technologies 5