“This is your computer speaking. We’re currently cruising at 580mph at an altitude of 36,000ft….”

It sounds incredible but airliners without a human at the controls could be flying passengers through the skies with in a decade - saving airlines billions by doing away with pilots and cutting ticket prices for passengers.

Research by analysts at UBS claims the pilotless aircraft could generate $35bn a year in savings for airlines.

The money would come not only from eliminating highly paid pilots who require expensive training, but by making aircraft safer by having them controlled by computers which are less likely to make errors. US safety data attributes three quarters of accidents to human error.