Waymo has received our pilot permit allowing for commercial operations at SFO (waymo.com)

Waymo has been granted a pilot permit to begin commercial operations at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The rollout will be phased: employee testing starts soon, followed by Bay Area rider service with initial pickup/dropoff at SFO’s Kiss & Fly area (a short AirTrain ride from the terminals), and the company intends to evaluate additional curb locations over time. This builds on Waymo’s live operations at Phoenix Sky Harbor and an upcoming launch at San Jose Mineta International Airport, positioning airports as a strategic expansion point for its service footprint. For the AI/ML and autonomous-vehicle community, the permit is significant because it signals regulatory confidence in Waymo’s operational safety case and provides a real-world, high-complexity environment to refine perception, routing, and human‑interaction models. Airports present dense pedestrian flows, variable traffic patterns, and tightly constrained dropoff/pickup zones—useful stress tests for sensor fusion, behavior prediction, and fleet orchestration systems. The phased approach implies continued data-driven iteration and monitoring before scaling curb-to-curb service across more cities, offering insights into multi-modal integration (AirTrain connections) and the economics of airport last-mile autonomy.