KLM has announced it is participating in a trial with Taxibot at Schiphol to test sustainable ways to taxi aircraft, the company said.
Taxibot is a hybrid towing vehicle which, unlike the normal pushback trucks, is licenced to tow full aircraft to near the start of the runway, without the aircraft having to start its engines. This is expected to reduce fuel consumption during taxiing by 50% to 85%. Schiphol Airport has made the Taxibot available to KLM, Transavia and Corendon to enable them to carry out joint research into more sustainable ways to taxi.
During the test, an empty KLM Boeing 737 was towed to the runway by the Taxibot to find out how CO2 emissions can be cut by using the Taxibot.
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% compared to 2005.
