The rush to Gate A24 can feel like a marathon. For some, it’s an easy jog. For others, it’s a mountain of barriers wrapped in silence. For elders, disabled travelers, and parents balancing carry-ons with children in tow, the distance between the check-in desk and the departure gate often exposes a deeper truth about mobility—who gets it, who doesn’t, and what systems are built to keep some moving while leaving others waiting.
Starting Monday, travelers at Detroit Metro Airport’s McNamara Terminal will witness a quiet shift with bold implications. Autonomous wheelchairs, developed by Tokyo-based Whill Inc., are being deployed through a partnership between Delta subsidiary Unifi Aviation LLC and the Wayne County Airport Authority. This addition is more than a convenience. It’s a push for equity in one of the most traveled airports in the Midwest, where nearly every flight path intersects with someone’s need for access.
“This collaboration with Unifi allows us to offer a cutting-edge, efficient service for customers, ensuring a smoother and more inclusive airport experience,” said Chad Newton, CEO of the Wayne County Airport Authority. That’s a call to shift the way transportation systems recognize and respond to real people.
Detroiters know what exclusion feels like. From redlining to bus cuts, from wheelchair-inaccessible housing to sidewalks too broken to navigate, our communities have been left out of planning conversations for generations. That exclusion doesn’t stop at airport security checkpoints. It shows up when an auntie visiting her grandchildren struggles to find a working wheelchair. It shows up when a grandfather recovering from knee surgery has to depend on someone being available—not someone being prepared.
The Whill autonomous wheelchairs move through this space with purpose. Each chair is outfitted with a control pad that lets passengers operate the device themselves. For those with limited mobility, that means a new level of dignity—no longer needing to rely solely on airport personnel to get from TSA to gate. The chairs are also equipped with collision-avoidance sensors, automatic brakes, backup systems, and an emergency stop button. These features build trust in a system that too often fails to center safety for the most vulnerable.
After the chair completes its journey, it returns to its base near the water feature at the terminal’s front. This design removes the burden of returning equipment from passengers or airport staff and allows for real-time redeployment. That’s efficiency that speaks to care, not just metrics.
The pilot program, funded by a grant from the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification through the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform, points to a broader commitment. This isn’t a stand-alone effort—it’s part of a statewide recognition that the future of transportation has to include those who have been pushed to the margins.
Across the United States, Whill has deployed over 100 of its devices in airports. This move into Detroit signals that our city is not an afterthought in the national mobility conversation. Too often, innovation skips past places like Detroit unless the story is about comeback or collapse. But this initiative tells another narrative—one where Detroit sets the pace on inclusion.
Later this year, the Whill wheelchairs will be added to the Evans Terminal. That expansion matters. Accessibility can’t stop at one terminal and ignore the other. True equity means consistency across every point of departure and arrival.
Delta’s involvement through its subsidiary, Unifi Aviation LLC, places this effort in the hands of a team already embedded in airport operations. The chairs will be assigned to passengers on-site by Unifi team members, creating a direct line of support that avoids additional bureaucracy. That kind of on-the-ground approach reflects a deeper understanding of what accessible design needs—intentionality and proximity.
Detroit Metro Airport serves as a gateway for the world to enter the city. It’s the last step before a kid visits their grandmother on the Eastside of Detroit. It’s the first step for a new business owner flying out to close a deal. That gateway should not exclude the elders who paved the way or the people living with disabilities whose stories deserve seats on every flight. Adding these chairs means Detroit is making room—literally and figuratively.
But this story isn’t about technology alone. It’s about who that technology serves. Too often, accessibility programs are built without community consultation. Tools are introduced without regard for cultural context. But here, the collaboration reflects something that Detroiters know well: collective power. The grant from the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification brings in statewide resources. The partnership with Unifi ensures that on-site management is embedded. And Whill’s design responds directly to user experience. That’s an ecosystem of care, not charity.
The narrative of Detroit has never been one-dimensional. Our mobility challenges are not only about potholes and bus lines. They’re about how systems value Black life. This pilot program introduces a different kind of movement—where the freedom to travel is not decided by age, ability, or who’s available to help you walk. That is the kind of change that pushes beyond infrastructure into identity.
Wayne County Airport Authority CEO Chad Newton’s words reflect this shift. “The introduction of WHILL autonomous wheelchairs is a major step forward in improving accessibility at DTW.” His statement reads as more than corporate acknowledgment. It lands as a responsibility. Public institutions must be held accountable not only for access but for advancement.
Detroiters understand the stakes. We’ve watched systems fail our loved ones. We’ve waited while policy promises turned into delays. But this moment offers something else—a possibility rooted in functionality and dignity. For every traveler who hesitated to book a flight because of mobility issues, this program opens the door again. For every caregiver who worried about how to navigate airport corridors, this announcement brings relief.
There’s still work ahead. Pilots are only the beginning. Equity requires monitoring, feedback, and adjustment. Will these wheelchairs remain adequately staffed and maintained? Will airport staff be trained to assist without judgment or rush? These questions must stay at the center. Technology without accountability can’t carry the full weight of progress.
Detroit is moving differently. Not because it wants to impress, but because its people demand change that speaks to real needs. These autonomous wheelchairs may roll quietly through the McNamara Terminal, but the message they carry speaks volumes. Access matters. Mobility matters. And Detroiters are watching to make sure that this new chapter includes all of us—front and center.
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