A fleet of MAN Lion’s City E electric buses headed to operations in Munich Airport

Munich Airport, one of the busiest aviation hubs in Europe, has ordered a total of 49 electric buses from MAN Truck & Bus, with an option for a further 25 vehicles.

The first ten solo vehicles are currently being delivered to AeroGround, the airport’s subsidiary for ground handling and transportation services. MAN also provided the charging solution.

Cologne-Bonn was the first German airport to take delivery of MAN eBuses at the beginning of 2023. Munich Airport’s fleet of vehicles includes 32 conventional MAN city buses – and is now being sustainably upgraded with state-of-the-art electric buses.

MAN electric buses headed to Munich

The fully electric solo and articulated buses are used by AeroGround on the apron. They take passengers and crews from the terminals to their aircraft before take-off or pick them up after landing. For operations with particularly high passenger volumes, the 18-metre articulated buses offer sufficient space to supplement the battery-electric solo buses.

The buses have a stated range of up to 350 km. If they need to be charged, 40 charging stations from SBRS (Shell group) will be available at the airport in future. MAN Transport Solutions offers MAN customers the right charging infrastructure in cooperation with SBRS, among others.

With the new electronics platform, which will be used in all MAN buses from model year 2024, a completely new cockpit is making its way into the Lion’s City E. The centerpiece is the 12-inch driver’s display, which is completely digital. Numerous assistance and safety systems, which will be introduced in model year 2024, ensure even greater safety in the Lion’s City E, the manufacturer underlines. New features include a radar-assisted turning aid for the blind right-hand side of the bus. A collision warning system with pedestrian detection is also on board all buses. It detects the entire front of the vehicle and warns the driver if, for example, people are moving in front of the bus at the boarding point on the way to the aircraft or terminal.

MAN electric buses for Munich

“Sustainability is a key issue for us. We want Munich Airport’s operations to leave no more CO₂ in the atmosphere by 2035 at the latest. With the purchase of the MAN eBuses, we are taking another important step in this direction,” says Jost Lammers, Chief Executive Officer at Flughafen München GmbH (FMG).

“We are delighted that another airport, Munich Airport, is relying on our MAN Lion’s City E. It shows impressively that the e-buses are proving themselves in practical use in city traffic as well as in other areas of application,” explains Robert Katzer, Head of Sales & Product Bus at MAN Truck & Bus.

“The fact that we get our e-buses and the right charging solution from a single source was a decisive factor for us,” says Helmut Ehrnstraßer, Managing Director of AeroGround Flughafen München GmbH, adding: ”The new electric buses with modern equipment are a flagship for Munich Airport, as they are the first and last point of contact for passengers.”