From day one, pilots have been an integral part of the flying experience. However, as technology has progressed, systems once designed to assist pilots are beginning to verge towards replacing them.
For short distance flights, testing of pilotless flying taxis is currently underway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Major aviation players seem to be working on this as well.
Boeing has just acquired Aurora Flight Sciences, an aviation research firm that specializes in the design unmanned aircraft.
For airlines, replacing pilots with technology could lead to major cost savings. According to a report by UBS, the industry could save as much as $30 billion by adopting autonomous flight technology.
It remains to be seen how quickly autonomous flying will take hold. Afterall, technology has a tendency to go wrong, which means we'll probably need a pilot there to take over.