For now, two pilots are required in a cockpit of a commercial airliner.
gettyThe European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) — the 27-country bloc’s civil aviation authority — has ruled against an industry push to allow commercial planes to fly with only one pilot by 2030, with one official calling such a proposal “absolutely not realistic,” Reuters reports.
The airline industry has pushed for loosening the two-pilot rule for decades, with some carriers clamoring more loudly during the Covid-19 pandemic. A global pilot shortage came to a head last summer, when travelers were routinely encountering up to 20,000 delayed flights every day, and has given pilot unions leverage in negotiating some fat salary bumps for their members.
Any solo flying, even at cruising altitude, needs approval from a number of bodies, including the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the individual airlines and their pilot unions. The ICAO has indicated it will begin studying the issue this year.
In the United States, airlines and aircraft manufacturers have argued that advances in technology make it safe for single-pilot operations and have lobbied the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to amend the Federal Aviation Regulations, which includes a requirement for air carriers to have two pilots in the cockpit at all times.
EASA is currently considering allowing certain single-person operations for parts of flights as early as 2027, based on a proposal from two France-based manufacturers, Airbus and Dassault Aviation.
Unsurprisingly, pilots are not expected to get on board with single-pilot proposals anytime soon. In a 2019 working paper presented to the ICAO, the international body of pilots unions strongly opposed moving from a two-pilot norm. “Our enviable safety record and culture is based upon two properly rested, fully qualified, and well-trained pilots,” the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Association wrote. “Because reduced crew operations carry significant additional risks over existing dual pilot operations, they will result in a serious reduction in flight safety.”
For pilots, there is legitimate reason to fear for job security in the long term, as aircraft manufacturers around the world work on autonomous flight systems.
The question is not if but when self-flying commercial planes become a reality, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told Bloomberg TV at an event last month marking the delivery of the last 747. “Autonomy is going to come to all of the airplanes eventually,” he said.
