From the plane that lands and takes off on its own to remote traffic control: utopia and reality are the two extreme poles of what artificial intelligence can do. Today this technology is implemented at airports and on board aircraft, where for some years it has allowed air carriers to save on fuel, keep customers informed and make the management of delayed flights more agile. Brussels plans investments of one billion euros per year in AI.

"With rapidly evolving generative artificial intelligence we will be able to get to a point where the plane can be made to take off and land without human intervention", explains Stefano Bonelli, Head of Innovative Human Factors of the company Deep Blue, specialized in technologies applied to the aviation sector and in research projects funded by the European Union.

"The level of attention to possible risks and therefore the number of checks that must be passed to be authorized to use new technologies is very high. This is one of the reasons why aviation is one of the fields with the best safety record. AI can lead to greater operational efficiency, improvements in safety and reliability, as well as a better overall experience for passengers and operators in the aviation industry".

AI is destined to reform the entire aviation sector: from air traffic management (ATM) to flight management (FMS) by examining weather conditions or the most efficient route. So much so that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) has developed a road map which envisages the adoption of cognitive technology at all levels by 2050: the machines that assist operators on the ground and in flight.