Leeds Bradford Deploys Aveo Airside Driving Simulator

Leeds Bradford Airport put a full digital twin of its airfield into driver training service on Aug. 25, when Iceland-based Aveo completed deployment of its airside driving simulator under a contract announced in May.

The system replaces part of the vehicle-based familiarization that airside drivers normally complete on live taxiways and aprons. Trainees now work through standardized scenarios — runway incursion prevention, emergency procedures, and driving in heavy rain, fog, thunderstorms and low visibility — inside a recreation of Leeds Bradford's actual airfield, built from real-world airport data.

The airport will also run Aveo's Winter Ops module, which lets crews rehearse snow removal under restricted visibility before the season starts.

What does this change for the airfield?

Richard Duncan, head of airfield operations at Leeds Bradford Airport, framed the value in two specific uses: initial training and incident reconstruction.

"The airside driving simulator not only allows us to deliver an enhanced, highly engaging initial training course but also enables us to recreate specific incidents or near misses based on reports received through our SMS reporting platform," Duncan said.

The airport's fire team has already begun low-visibility airfield search training on the device. Winter operations training for the airside operations team is planned but not yet running — a distinction worth noting, since the Winter Ops capability exists on paper for that team today only as a schedule.

The regulatory driver

The deployment lands as UK and international regulators push scenario-based, competency-assessed training over box-ticking. The UK Civil Aviation Authority updated its CAP 790 guidance in July 2026, encouraging aerodrome operators to adopt recurrent scenario-based training and to build local runway incursion case studies into their programs. Aveo says the simulator supports the training and competency requirements of ICAO Annex 14 and CAA CAP 642.

Those claims are manufacturer statements, not regulator certifications. Neither the CAA nor ICAO has endorsed the product by name; compliance mapping remains Aveo's assertion until an aerodrome inspector accepts the records.

Consistency as the product

The other selling point is data. The simulator generates competency assessments automatically, producing uniform training records for audits. That addresses a real gap: airside driver standards have historically varied by instructor and by shift.

"Every driver can now train on the same scenarios and be assessed the same way, giving the airport consistent training records," said Ragnar Sævarsson, chief commercial officer and co-founder of Aveo.

Whether those records satisfy a CAA auditor on first inspection is the test that matters. Simulated training hours also count toward competency only insofar as regulators accept them — CAP 790 encourages the approach, it does not mandate it.

Leeds Bradford has not disclosed the contract value, the number of simulator stations installed, or how many drivers will pass through the system annually. Aveo has not said whether other UK airports have followed. For now, this is one airport, one device, and a winter training program still on the calendar rather than in the record.