The aircraft evolution that fires up aviation debate | Airlines

Aviation is not short of contentious issues, but none seem to fire up passions quite like that of the implementation of single pilot commercial operations. 

It’s a subject on which many businesses and organizations within the aviation industry have a strong opinion, though others would clearly rather duck for cover and stay out of it.  

At its most basic, the question being asked is whether commercial aircraft could be flown by a single pilot in the future, rather than two as is now the norm.  

However, there are many complexities surrounding the discussion, mainly focused around safety. Perhaps the key driver here is whether passengers will ever have enough confidence to step on a flight knowing that only one person is sitting at the controls. 

According to a 2023 report by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), there are two new concepts of operations (CONOPs) in play when considering single pilot operations.  

The first is Extended Minimum-Crew Operations (eMCOs), the other Single-Pilot Operations (SiPOs).  

eMCOs are defined as “operations where the flight time is extended by means of rest in flight with the minimum flight crew”. On the other hand, SiPOs are end-to-end single-pilot operations. 

In practice, eMCOs would enable only one pilot to be at the aircraft controls during the cruise flight phase, then two in place during takeoffs and landings,…