European planes could be operating with only one pilot for cruise portions of long flights as soon as 2027 or 2028, if moves by aircraft manufacturers are successful.
Airbus and Dassault applied to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) between 2019 and 2022, the body has said, to gain approval for for large planes to implement so-called “extended Minimum Crew operations”. If deemed airworthy, the Minimum Crew operations would allow one pilot to leave the cockpit to rest during cruising, while the co-pilot flies the plane, with both present for take off and landing.
Airbus has said the deployment of new tech solutions it is developing would mean flight crews could “better organise their presence in the cockpit during the cruise phase” and “pilots can thus achieve a better balance between working and resting time on long-range flights.”
While EASA is considering the idea’s “anticipated benefits in term of pilot fatigue management”, it is likely to be four years or more before any changes to safety rules go live.
Pilots however are not happy with the proposal. The European Cockpit Association, a Brussels-based body representing various pilots unions, has denounced the plans as “a gamble with safety” and launched a “OneMeansNone” website to lay out its concerns, explaining that “relying on one pilot is not enough as flying with just one pilot is like flying on a pilotless flight.”
They have called the minimum crew arrangement “an inherently dangerous concept” which they claim is “driven solely by the commercial interests of manufacturers and airlines.”
The pilots’ organisation point out that “Automation on a plane requires humans to programme and manage it effectively. But, it often fails. This is why planes are equipped with multiple backups – like two engines, two generators, two hydraulic systems, two navigation receivers.
“This redundancy is key to maintaining today’s impressive safety record. If one system fails, another kicks in. The same applies for pilots: if one gets sick or needs to use the bathroom, another one must swiftly take over.”
Meanwhile, Easa has said it “will only approve such operations once the agency is convinced that they are at least as safe as today’s two-pilot operations.”
If the Minimum Crew idea goes ahead, it could prove to be a precursor to Single Pilot Operation (SiPO), using only one pilot per flight – something EASA is also looking at in the longer term.
