Rome Fiumicino Airport launches WHILL autonomous-driving chairs for passengers with reduced mobility

ROME – Aeroporti di Roma and WHILL, Inc. launch the first autonomous driving chairs service, designed for passengers with reduced mobility (PRMs), at Rome Fiumicino Airport. The announcement was made during the event ‘Inclusion and accessibility at the airport’, an annual meeting with associations representing people with disabilities, held at the Innovation Hub of the “Leonardo da Vinci” airport.

Designed to offer travellers greater autonomy and comfort, the new service is a further significant step towards a more accessible and safer airport experience guaranteed by ADR Assistance, the Aeroporti di Roma Group company that provides assistance to passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility.

Set the destination, the new self-driving device will autonomously transport the passenger to the gate. Thanks to its smart sensors, it will avoid all obstacles and will guarantee greater comfort and independence. At the end of the route, the chair will automatically come back to its starting position.

The new devices are available in the Terminal 3 boarding area and will cover the route to 14 gates (E11-E24) and three lounges in the non-Schengen area. Being the service launch with the first 4 devices in the first phase, ADR Assistance employees will manage operations through a touchscreen interface to select the passengers’ destination within the airport.

Rome Fiumicino airport is one of the first in Europe to have tested and then adopted WHILL, which is already in use at major hubs in North America and Japan. The company is one of the startups that took part in the ‘Runway to the Future’ programme, in ADR’s Innovation Hub at Terminal 1 of Rome Fiumicino airport, recently confirmed for the 8 th consecutive year as the best hub in Europe for the quality of services offered to passengers by ACI World.

“We are proud to introduce our service to Europe. WHILL offers personal transportation solutions and Mobility-as-a-Service, improving accessibility in public spaces worldwide. Operating in about 30 countries, we are excited to continue expanding our reach to new locations,” said Satoshi Sugie, co-founder and CEO of WHILL.

“The WHILL self-driving devices represent another step forward in our vision of a more personalized airport experience. This new service actively enhances the accessibility of our infrastructure, making the customer journey smoother for those who need assistance. We remain committed to improving travel accessibility, with innovation as a key driver in our ongoing efforts to rank among the world’s top airports for passenger satisfaction” stated Marina Maschio, Managing Director of ADR Assistance, the Aeroporti di Roma Group company that provides assistance to passengers with reduced mobility.

Established in 2012, WHILL provides personal mobility products and services in more than 25 countries. WHILL improves accessibility in places such as airports, hospitals, theme parks, cruise ships and convention centres. The company’s offer ranges from electric scooters to self-driving devices, designed to give users greater mobility and independence through advanced technology.

The article Rome Fiumicino Airport launches WHILL autonomous-driving chairs for passengers with reduced mobility first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.