Single pilot operations (SPO) is a proposal for commercial flights operated with one pilot, where previously two would be required. Single pilot operations will require improvements in technology including aircraft and

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...

design, and changes to pilot training. Safety must be proved to win acceptance by regulators and the public.

History

Historically, large aircraft required several personnel on the flight deck, such as a

navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's prim ...

, a

flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is a member of an aircraft's flight crew who is responsible for monitoring and operating its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referr ...

, and a dedicated radio operator. Improvements in automation, reliability and technology such as

autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of a vehicle without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allow ...

and

satellite navigation A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geopositioning. A satellite navigation system with global coverage is termed global navigation satellite system (GNSS). , four global systems are ope ...

have enabled modern large aircraft to operate safely with only two pilots on duty. With further technological improvements, it may be possible safely to reduce crew requirements to one, providing cost savings. The

European Union Aviation Safety Agency The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Commission with responsibility for civil aviation safety in the European Union. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs inve ...

(EASA) has been investigating Extended Minimum Crew Operations (eMCO), where an aircraft could be operated by one pilot in the cruise. This would be an initial requirement before single pilot operations might be allowed at a later stage. The research project runs from 2022 to 2025.

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

and

Dassault Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault SAS (; also GIM Dassault or Dassault Group) is a French corporate group established in 1929 with the creation of Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (now Dassault Aviation) by Marcel Dassault, later led by his so ...

have expressed interest in eMCO. Airbus completed its Autonomous Taxi, Take-Off and Landing (ATTOL) project in 2020, demonstrating an autonomous flight with an A350-1000 aircraft. In 2023, Airbus project Dragonfly used a combination of normal and infrared cameras, as well as radar, to assist pilots in various situations. In 2024 Airbus began testing an autonomous aircraft taxi system called "Optimate".

Opposition

Proposals for single pilot operations are opposed by several pilots'

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s, including the

International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) is an international not-for-profit organization of national aircraft pilot trade unions, known as pilot associations. IFALPA was founded in April 1948 and is based in Montreal ...

(IFALPA), the American

Air Line Pilots Association The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is the largest pilot union in the world, representing more than 79,000 pilots from 42 US and Canadian airlines. ALPA was founded on 27 July 1931 and is a member of the AFL-CIO and the Canadian ...

(ALPA), the

European Cockpit Association The European Cockpit Association (ECA) is a trade union that represents European Pilot (aircraft), pilots. It has pursued the improvement of aviation policies to the benefit of its members, and has frequently spoken out in length on topics such as ...

, and the British Air Line Pilots Association. In their

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...

, ALPA argue that two-pilot operations reduces errors through cross-checking, workload sharing and better

decision-making In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the Cognition, cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be ...

, and provides redundancy in the case of pilot incapacitation. They argue that pilots learn from each other when working together; that pilots are more versatile than aircraft equipment and sensors; and that pilots are better at autonomous decision making. They also raise concerns about cybersecurity.

References

{{reflist

External links

Airbus – Autonomous FlightOne Means None
European Cockpit Association campaign website Aircraft automation

History

Opposition

See also

References

External links