"Västerås Digital Airport" can then be called the airport. An airport where everything from check-in to snow removal will be done automatically, using the technology 5G. Drones should also be used, both for goods transport and passenger transport. This would reduce airport costs, says Simonsson.

- It is an exciting opportunity for industrial Sweden and for Västerås, says Bengt Simonsson, project manager. He also believes that this would reduce airport costs.

The players behind the idea are Bengt Simonsson's company, which is affiliated with the Royal Institute of Technology, as well as a group of large industrial companies. The Civil Aviation Administration must also be involved.

Västerås Airport fits the project

The project was started in 2018 and it was not decided then that one would target Västerås airport.

- We have explored several airports, but concluded that Västerås achieves the highest number of total points. We have a long, hard runway where you can land with heavy traffic and we are close to the industry, says Bengt Simonsson.

The idea is that Västerås will become the hub for the investment in automated airports. The project has estimated that there are around 40,000 airports around the world that are threatened with closure and that could be helped in this way.

In the long run, Bengt Simonsson also talks about the fact that drones at Västerås Airport should be able to deliver warm food boxes in the elderly care.

The financing is unclear

The proposal contains no ready-made funding, but Bengt Simonsson lobbies for several actors outside the project group to join together. Such as the County Administrative Board of Västmanland, Region Västmanland and Västerås City. The proposal means that the city of Västerås will continue to own the airport.

According to Bengt Simonsson, the automated Västerås airport can be ready by 2023.

In the clip above, the municipal council Anders Teljebäck (S) and the opposition council Elisabeth Unell (M) tell us what they think about the proposal.