Aircraft have been gradually moving towards automation. AFP
Aircraft have been gradually moving towards automation. AFP
Aircraft have been gradually moving towards automation. AFP
Aircraft have been gradually moving towards automation. AFP

Airlines push for lone pilot flights to cut costs but move faces resistance


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Airlines and regulators are pushing to have only one pilot in the cockpit of passenger jets instead of two.

The move would lower costs and ease pressure from crew shortages, but placing such responsibility on a single person at the controls is unsettling for some.

More than 40 countries including Germany, the UK and New Zealand have asked the UN body that sets aviation standards to help make single-pilot flights a safe reality.

The EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has also been working with plane makers to determine how solo flights would operate and preparing rules to oversee them. The agency said such services could start in 2027.

The plan doesn’t sit well with pilots and is a hard sell for passengers, too.

Tony Lucas, an Airbus A330 captain for Qantas Airways and president of the Australian & International Pilots Association, is concerned that a lone pilot might be overwhelmed by an emergency before anyone else has time to reach the cockpit to help.

“The people going down this route aren’t the people who fly jets every day,” Mr Lucas said. “When things go awry, they go awry fairly quickly.”

That is what happened on board Air France Flight 447 on its way to Paris from Rio de Janeiro on June 1, 2009.

With the plane cruising at 10.6km over the Atlantic Ocean and the captain resting in the cabin, the two co-pilots in the cockpit started receiving faulty speed readings, probably from frozen detector tubes outside the aircraft.

By the time the captain reached the cockpit 90 seconds later, the plane was in an aerodynamic stall from which it never recovered. Less than three minutes later, it hit the water, killing all 228 people on board.

Mr Lucas, a check and training captain, also worries about the lost opportunities to mentor junior pilots if flight crew are working increasingly on their own.

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World's safest airlines 2022

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The challenges

The planned changes bring many challenges. It is not yet clear what would happen if a lone pilot collapsed or started flying erratically. Automation, technology and remote assistance from the ground would somehow have to replace the expertise, safety and immediacy of a second pilot.

Aviation has been moving towards this point for decades. In the 1950s, commercial aircraft cockpits were more crowded, typically with a captain, first officer or co-pilot, a flight engineer, a navigator and a radio operator.

Advances in technology gradually made the last three positions redundant.

Janet Northcote, the EASA’s head of communications, wrote in an email that “we are potentially removing the last piece of human redundancy from the flight deck”.

One condition for single-pilot operations is that it is at least as safe as with two people at the controls, according to an EU request to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the UN aviation standards body.

“The psychological barriers are probably harder than the technological barriers,” Boeing's South-East Asia president Alexander Feldman said at a Bloomberg business summit in Bangkok last week.

“The technology is there for single pilots; it is really about where the regulators and the general public feel comfortable.”

A first step would be to allow solo piloting when aircraft are cruising, typically a less busy period than take-offs and landings. That would allow the other pilot to rest in the cabin, rather than staying in the cockpit to help to fly the plane.

By alternating breaks in this manner, a two-person crew could fly longer routes without the help - and expense - of an extra pilot.

Ultimately, flying could be fully automated with minimal oversight from a pilot in the cockpit. The system could detect if the pilot, for whatever reason, is incapacitated and then land the plane by itself at a preselected airport, according to the EASA.

However, such flights are not expected to begin until well after 2030, it said.

Miracle on the Hudson

Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger attends the New York premiere of the film Sully. The film centres on the 'Miracle on the Hudson'. Reuters
Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger attends the New York premiere of the film Sully. The film centres on the 'Miracle on the Hudson'. Reuters

The value of having two pilots up front was famously borne out on January 15, 2009, when a US Airways plane struck a flock of geese shortly after take-off and lost power in both engines.

The captain, Chesley Sullenberger, and first officer Jeffrey Skiles together managed to land the Airbus A320 on the Hudson River. No one died. The incident became known as the Miracle on the Hudson.

Nothing to date has proved safer than “a second rested, qualified, well-trained pilot physically present on the flight deck”, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations told ICAO in a paper for its assembly last month.

“Commercial airline passengers absolutely expect and deserve two pilots in the cockpit,” said Joe Leader, chief executive officer of Apex, a New York-based aviation association that focuses on passengers’ experiences.

Transitioning to single-pilot operations could affect areas such as crew training and medical requirements, as well as mental health and job satisfaction, the UK Civil Aviation Authority said in an email.

The impact of flying alone, even for a while, requires “detailed assessment”, said the authority, one of the regulators that contributed to the European paper for the ICAO assembly.

The International Co-ordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations, which represents plane makers worldwide, is urging ICAO to devise a road map for flights with one pilot at the controls during non-critical periods.

Airbus said in an email it is assessing how its planes might be flown by smaller crews. For now, the plane maker is collaborating with airlines and regulators to see if two pilots could safely replace three-person crews on long-haul flights.

Airlines are looking into single-pilot flights, including China Eastern Airlines, which suffered a fatal crash in March.

A pilot at the Shanghai-based airline co-authored research last month that assessed how take-off and landing tasks could be automated or completed with the help from a ground station.

The EASA said it is aware of concerns about solo flying and that addressing them is part of the process.

“These concepts will not be implemented until the aviation community is comfortable that operations will be at least as safe as they are today,” Ms Northcote said.

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Brief scoreline:

Liverpool 2

Keita 5', Firmino 26'

Porto 0

T20 World Cup Qualifier, Muscat

UAE FIXTURES

Friday February 18: v Ireland

Saturday February 19: v Germany

Monday February 21: v Philippines

Tuesday February 22: semi-finals

Thursday February 24: final 

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GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO

Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

While you're here
Brief scores:

Liverpool 3

Mane 24', Shaqiri 73', 80'

Manchester United 1

Lingard 33'

Man of the Match: Fabinho (Liverpool)

German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe. 

"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.

Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.

"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

The biog

Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.

His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.

“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.

"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”

Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.

He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking. 

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Equinox

Price, base / as tested: Dh76,900 / Dh110,900

Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder

Gearbox: Nine-speed automatic

Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: Torque: 352Nm @ 2,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.5L / 100km

Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas

Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa

Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong

Rating: 3/5

Tank warfare

Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks. 

“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.

“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

If you go...

Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.

Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50

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What to watch out for:

Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways

The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof

The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history

Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure

Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used

Qosty Byogaani

Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny

Four stars

Surianah's top five jazz artists

Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.  

Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.

Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.

Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.

Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.

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Updated: November 24, 2022, 10:22 AM`