Self-driving wheelchairs can now transport American Airlines passengers around the airport terminal at the touch of a button. Rose Dykins reports

American Airlines has introduced the first autonomous wheelchair airport service in the US.

The airline has partnered with mobility tech company Whill to implement electric self-driving wheelchairs that don't require assistance from airport staff in order to transport passengers.

The new tech helps provide a solution to airport staffing shortages – particularly during peak flying times – that can negatively impact the travel experiences of passengers with reduced mobility.

Envoy Air, which is owned by American Airlines, has teamed up with Whill to introduce ten wheelchairs at both Los Angeles International airport and Miami International Airport. There are plans to add more Whill wheelchairs in Miami, as well as other key airport hubs in the US and Europe.

Whill has mapped out routes at Terminal D in Miami and Terminal 4 in LA to create "invisible rail lines" from designated points to each gate. The devices connected to each wheelchair then follow these lines to navigate the best route to get customers to where they need to be.

Once a passenger has cleared security with the assistance of airport staff, they're taken to a waiting area. Ahead of their departure time, they're seated in their Whill wheelchair. They then press a button on the touchscreen to select their gate, and the Whill chair takes them straight there. There is also space on the back of the wheelchair for their luggage.

The Whill wheelchairs are fitted with LiDAR cameras and sensors, which are able to measure distances from objects via pulses of laser lights. This prevents the chairs from collisions while they're on the move, and would also inform the chair to avoid travelling over a wet floor. The chair can also "ding" an alarm to ask people in its path to step aside, or it can make a small detour if needed.

Passengers with reduced mobility are one of the fastest-growing demographics of air travellers – including elderly customers (the global population will include 2.1 billion people aged over 60 by 2050).

The aviation industry needs to adapt to meet their needs and find solutions to the longer waiting times and greater demand for support from passengers who are needing to travel great distances across airport terminals in a short amount of time, which also places more physical demands on airport staff. Offering autonomous wheelchairs for is a positive step up to the challenge airports and airlines face in providing a quality service for these travellers.