The leader of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says he thinks it will be decades before single-pilot passenger airline operations are allowed. Director General Willie Walsh said that despite the apparent push toward autonomous airliners with a human backup, he doesn't see it happening anytime soon. "I don't expect to see a move to single-pilot operation, if ever," he said at a media briefing in Geneva. "Certainly I don't see it in the next 15, 20, maybe 25 years." The European Union has sent a formal request on behalf of 40 countries to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to set standards for single-pilot passenger operations. Although the early discussion is about having a single pilot onboard, the standards would be focused on fully autonomous operations with the pilot monitoring.
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