TALLINN, Estonia - Auve Tech demonstrated its MiCa autonomous shuttle operating at Tallinn Airport without an onboard safety operator on Tuesday, after receiving authorization in August to remove that person from passenger service for Magnetic MRO, the companies said.
The Estonian maker said the August approval made it the first European company to operate autonomous passenger transport at an airport without an onboard safety operator. Riivo Tuvike, chairman of Tallinn Airport's management board, said the airport is the first in Europe where an autonomous vehicle has been authorized to operate without someone on board for safety.
MiCa is an eight-passenger Level 4 electric shuttle that uses cameras and LiDAR sensors and can be monitored from a remote supervision center. Auve Tech and Magnetic MRO began testing at the airport in 2023 and moved into commercial operations in 2025. The shuttles now connect Magnetic MRO hangars on the airside, covering about 1,000 kilometers a week with an average autonomy rate of 99.9 percent, Auve Tech said.
"The real breakthrough for autonomous vehicles will occur when the technology can operate daily in real-world environments without a human on board. We have reached precisely this stage at Tallinn Airport," Kaarel Variksaar, Auve Tech's chief executive, said in a statement. "A single remote operator can monitor multiple vehicles, and this is a key step toward making autonomous transport economically competitive and scalable."
Risto Mäeots, chief executive of Magnetic Group, said the vehicles are already part of daily operations moving people and supplies between hangars. "Removing the onboard safety operator is an important next step in making the solution even more efficient and scalable," he said.
Euronews visited the service and reported that routes pass close to parked aircraft. Deivis Sepp, Auve Tech's fleet operations lead, told the outlet that the airport's safety board had reviewed performance data weekly during testing. Taavi Rõivas, chairman of Auve Tech's supervisory board and a former Estonian prime minister, put the commercial break-even point at about three vehicles per remote operator.
WeRide has separately said employee Robobus shuttles at Zurich Airport have run fully automated with no onboard safety driver under remote monitoring. Auve Tech's claim is specific to authorization for airport passenger service without an onboard safety operator in Europe. The company said other airports have been visiting Tallinn and that it expects similar services at larger airports soon.
