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Article

Traffic Simulation of Automated-Driving Ground Support Equipment at Tokyo International Airport

1
National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, Kanagawa 239-0826, Japan
2
Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
3
Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., Tokyo 100-8141, Japan
4
i-Transport Lab. Co., Ltd., Tokyo 101-0052, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Aerospace 2025, 12(10), 896; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12100896
Submission received: 28 June 2025 / Revised: 10 September 2025 / Accepted: 19 September 2025 / Published: 3 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Collection Air Transportation—Operations and Management)

Abstract

In Japan, the shortage of airport ground-handling personnel has become a serious concern with the growing demand for aviation, necessitating improvements in operational efficiency. Accordingly, the expectations for automating aircraft ground support equipment (GSE) vehicles are growing to achieve labor savings. This study evaluated the changes in GSE traffic flow performance (travel speed, travel time, and number of stops) through traffic simulations under various scenarios of automated-driving GSEs penetrating the entire airport restricted areas. We simulated the traffic flow at Tokyo International Airport using the observation data of each GSE driving through the airport. Simulation results indicated that GSEs experience a reduced travel speed in some vehicle corridors when automated-driving GSEs, considering the safety risks associated with existing automated technology, run at lower speeds to ensure reliable driving performance. Consequently, the total travel time of the GSEs for the entire airport increases. These results confirm that the penetration of automated-driving GSEs can be facilitated by implementing measures, such as developing technology for reliable driving performance or operational rules at intersections to enable these vehicles to run at a speed equivalent to that of manned GSEs and to prevent speed reduction and travel time increase in airport vehicle corridors.
Keywords: aircraft ground support equipment; traffic simulation; automated-driving; aviation policy aircraft ground support equipment; traffic simulation; automated-driving; aviation policy

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Kuroda, Y.; Hanaoka, S.; Sato, S.; Horiguchi, R. Traffic Simulation of Automated-Driving Ground Support Equipment at Tokyo International Airport. Aerospace 2025, 12, 896. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12100896

AMA Style

Kuroda Y, Hanaoka S, Sato S, Horiguchi R. Traffic Simulation of Automated-Driving Ground Support Equipment at Tokyo International Airport. Aerospace. 2025; 12(10):896. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12100896

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kuroda, Yuka, Shinya Hanaoka, Satoshi Sato, and Ryota Horiguchi. 2025. "Traffic Simulation of Automated-Driving Ground Support Equipment at Tokyo International Airport" Aerospace 12, no. 10: 896. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12100896

APA Style

Kuroda, Y., Hanaoka, S., Sato, S., & Horiguchi, R. (2025). Traffic Simulation of Automated-Driving Ground Support Equipment at Tokyo International Airport. Aerospace, 12(10), 896. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12100896

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