The first airplane was flown in 1903 by the Wright Brothers. Since then, aviation has gone through quite an impressive evolution from the invention of the jet engine in 1928 to the establishment of budget airlines in the 1970s.
Nowadays, aviation is a huge industry. Estimates suggest that every day over 100,000 flights take place around the world. However, problems now face this industry such as concerns over emissions, increased costs and security. Drastic changes are likely to take place in the next few decades so that flying is still feasible. Below are some of the likely changes to expect.
Electric and hybrid planes
Jet planes are not a sustainable option going into the future – they heavily pollute the atmosphere, make too much noise and the cost of fueling them is very expensive. Electric and hybrid planes can solve these problems and will likely replace them in the next few decades. The Swedish hybrid-electric EcoPulse successfully completed its first test flight in December 2023 and other manufacturers are also gearing up to test their own hybrid and electric aircraft. If test flights continue to be successful, we could start to see these planes being mass produced in a few years time.
Autonomous aircraft
Modern aircraft already rely heavily on automation – with 90% of a commercial flight carried out by auto-pilot. AI is helping to make automated take-off and landing a possibility, which could lead to the widespread adoption of fully automated passenger aircraft. The first self-flying cargo planes will likely enter the market in the next two years, while small self-flying passenger planes may enter service in the 2030s.
AI traffic control
Air traffic is increasing year on year. Already, many airports are starting to explore the possibilities of AI in order to reduce congestion and improve safety. In the future, AI may do most of the work – automatically adjusting signal timings and predicting traffic patterns.
New health and safety tech
Health and safety in the aviation industry is something that is continuously being improved. When it comes to aircraft testing, avionics test equipment is rapidly evolving – allowing for more thorough testing of aircraft. Automation features like automated collision prevention are also making planes safer, while improvements are also being made to aircraft ventilation and air quality to reduce the spread of diseases.
Biometric passports
Many passport control centres around the world are already incorporating biometrics into the process. This includes measures such as fingerprint scanning and facial recognition to confirm passengers’ identity. Many countries are looking into adopting digital passports and it’s possible digital passports may replace physical passports one day – but not any time soon.
Space travel
When will commercial space travel take off? And will it affect the aviation industry? It is likely that one day regular people will be taking vacations into space – but we’re a long way off from this happening. It’s not that the technology isn’t there, but that it costs so much and isn’t particularly eco-friendly. For the space industry to resemble the aviation industry, it will need to become more cost-effective and less destructive to the environment. There will also need to be a good reason for people going into space – such as the establishment of space stations that tourists can stay at or space tours. All in all, space tourism still has a lot of obstacles to overcome and aviation is likely to remain more popular and practical.
