TechCrunch reported on Jan. 29 that Waymo has received permission to operate robotaxis at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
Waymo said in a blog post it will provide airport ride services to selected passengers and plans to expand it to all customers within months. Pickups and drop-offs will take place at the SFO rental car center accessible by AirTrain.
Waymo is under investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) after a recent crash in Santa Monica in which a robotaxi hit a child. It is also being monitored by authorities over illegal driving around school buses. Even so, Waymo continues to expand.
Waymo has expanded aggressively over the past year by widening service areas and increasing its fleet. It now operates robotaxis across much of the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami and Phoenix. It already offers curbside service at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Waymo's move into SFO comes after lengthy negotiations. Waymo, which failed to secure permission in 2023 to map inside the airport, later resumed talks and received conditional permission to map SFO in March 2025, on the condition that it share data.
Chi-gyu Hwang (황치규)
delight@d-today.co.kr