Aurrigo International PLC (AIM:AURR) jumped 13% as it firmed up a partnership with British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA for autonomous cargo shifting at UK airports.
In a statement, Aurrigo said the partnership is expected to follow a similar pattern to an ongoing agreement with Changi Airport in Singapore.
An evaluation and simulation phase will run for four months starting now followed by a demonstration phase and an initial deployment.
Aurrigo then expects a small fleet deployment in the first half of 2025 involving the Auto-DollyTug baggage vehicle, the Auto-Cargo air-freight vehicle and Aurrigo's Auto-Sim aviation operations simulation software.
“A large UK airport” will see the first deployment with the contract valued at £0.25 million.
Jorge Saco, chief information, procurement, services, and innovation officer at IAG, said: "We first trialled the prototype Auto-Dolly in 2019 and after revisiting it post-Covid, we were impressed by how far their vehicle capabilities have progressed."
Shares in Aurrigo jumped 20p to 167.5p.