Getting on a plane without a pilot seems like a terrible idea, but that isn’t stopping Airbus from ushering in an age of autonomous commercial flight. The aeronautics giant claims it already has the technology for passenger planes that can fly themselves; the actual hurdles are regulators and sane members of the public.
“This is not a matter of technology — it’s a matter of interaction with the regulators, the perception in the traveling public,” he told The Associated Press.
“When can we introduce it in large commercial aircraft? That is a matter we are discussing with regulators and customers, but technology-wise, we don’t see a hurdle.”