Operations
EASA Pauses Single-pilot Flight Operations Research
Changes to the cockpit will be needed to support a new concept of single-pilot operations
EASA single-pilot cockpit research
© EASA

Additional research and new technology will be needed before EASA can recommend moving forward on its concept of permitting single-pilot operations on large commercial aircraft that presently require two pilots. This was the conclusion of the EU agency in a new report on its minimum cockpit crew requirements project that has been underway since 2021.

“With the current cockpit design taken as a reference, and within the limits of the research, it was identified that an equivalent level of safety between one-pilot crew operations and the current two-crew operations cannot be sufficiently demonstrated,” said the report.