Plane maker Boeing is actively working on technology that would remove the need for two pilots in the cockpits of its passenger jets.

Existing European aviation rules state that passenger planes with more than 19 seats must have a minimum of two pilots in the cockpit.

But Steve Nordlund, a vice president at Boeing, said autonomous technology that would allow for a reduction in on-board crew was being developed at a “good speed”.

He said Boeing “believes in autonomous flight and self-piloted aircraft” and the firm's commercial aircraft division was “working on those technologies today”.

“I don't think you'll see a pilotless aircraft of a 737 in the near future,” he told The Independent.

“But what you may see is more automation and aiding in the cockpit, maybe a change in the crew number up in the cockpit.”

He suggested cargo jets could be the first to trial the technology but that it made “business sense” to pursue a reduction in the number of on-board crew on passenger planes, too.

“A combination of safety, economics and technology all have to converge, and I think we are starting to see that.”

It would also address a chronic shortage of pilots which analysts have said could reach more than 200,000 over the next decade.

But while planes have become increasingly automated in recent decades, with autopilot routinely used throughout all phases of a flight, the prospect of fewer crew members may still prove to be a hard sell – both to passengers and regulators.

After a Germanwings pilot flew an A320 plane into the French Alps in March 2015, killing all 150 people on board, Europe’s aviation safety authority, EASA, imposed a rule that two crew members should be in the cockpit at all times. It meant that if a pilot needed to step out of the cockpit, to use the toilet for example, a member of the cabin crew had to step in.

EASA relaxed the requirement last year, saying it was up to airlines to ensure their aircraft were safe.

Sully Sullenberger, the retired US Airways pilot who saved the lives of 155 people when he landed an A320 on New York's Hudson River after both engines suffered a bird strike, has previously spoken out against moves towards single-pilot aircraft.

Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Show all 26 1 /26 Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Passengers stand on the wings of a US Airways plane as a ferry pulls up to it after it landed in the Hudson River in New York, January 15, 2009. Local media said the plane was an Airbus with 146 passengers and five crew which had just taken off from La Guardia Airport and was trying to return after apparently striking a flock of birds REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Passengers stand on the wings of the US Airways Airbus 320 as they wait to be rescued REUTERS Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river The statue of liberty can be seen in the background as the rescue teams surround the plane GETTY IMAGES Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Passengers are off loaded from a life raft to two boats REUTERS Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river The US Airways Airbus 320 sinks after crashing into the Hudson river in New York AP Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river One of the passengers on board is rescued AP Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Rescue workers in boats assist a US Airways plane (R) floating in the water after crashing into the Hudson River in the afternoon on January 15, 2009 in New York City. The Airbus 320 flight 1549 crashed shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport Mario Tama/Getty Images Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river A rescue worker looks on as a US Airways plane floats in the water after crashing into the Hudson River in the afternoon on January 15, 2009 in New York City. The Airbus 320 flight 1549 crashed shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Rescue boats float near a US Airways plane floating in the water after crashing into the Hudson River in the afternoon on January 15, 2009 in New York City. The Airbus 320 flight 1549 crashed shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Rescue crews secure a US Airways flight 1549 floating in the water after it crashed into the Hudson River January 15, 2009 in New York City. The Airbus 320 craft crashed shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport Chris McGrath/Getty Images Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river A wing and the tail section of US Airways flight 1549 sticks out of the Hudson River near Battery Park City, where it was tied after it crashed in the river January 15, 2009 in New York City. The Airbus 320 craft crashed shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport Daniel Barry/Getty Images Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Passengers wait to be rescued after a U.S. Airways plane crashed into the Hudson River in New York Reuters Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river A US Airways plane which crashed in the Hudson River is secured to a bulkhead along with life boats in New York Reuters Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Rescue vessels surround a U.S. Airways plane floats in the water after it crashed into the Hudson River in New York January Reuters Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Debris and flotation devises are seen in the Hudson River near the crash site of a US Airways plane in New York Reuters Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river n this photo taken by a passenger on a ferry, airline passengers egress a US Airways Airbus 320 jetliner that safely ditched in the frigid waters of the Hudson River in New York AP Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Passengers wait to be rescued after a U.S. Airways plane crashed into the Hudson River in New York Reuters Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III, captain of the US Airways jet that crashed into icy waters off New York was hailed as a hero January 15, 2009, after coolly overseeing the miraculous scape of 155 passengers and crew AFP/ Getty Images Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river A wing of US Airways flight 1549 sticks out of the Hudson river after it crashed Getty Images Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Josh Peltz, of Charlotte, N.C., left, and another unidentified survivor of the US Airways plane crash in the Hudson River, wait for a bus to take them from a First Aid center in Weehawken AP Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Passengers stand on the wings of a U.S. Airways plane as a ferry pulls up to it after it landed in the Hudson River in New York Reuters Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river A US Airways Airbus A320 airliner floats down the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey after making an emergency landing in the river after taking off from New York's Laguardia Airport Reuters Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river A US Airways Airbus A320 airliner floats down the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey (back) after making an emergency landing in the river after taking off from New York's Laguardia Airport Reuters Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Dave Sanderson of Charlotte, North Carolina lies in a hospital bed of Palisades Medical Center after surviving the crash of US Airways flight 1549 into the Hudson River Getty Images Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river Wearing a Red Cross blanket, an unidentified survivor of U.S. Airways flight 1549 walks through the concourse of Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte AP Great escape: Miracle on the Hudson river A passenger of US Airways flight 1549 is carried out on a stretcher from a Hudson River terminal January 15, 2009 in New York City. The Airbus 320 craft crashed shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport Daniel Barry/Getty Images

After the US Federal Aviation Administration asked Congress for money to research single-pilot commercial airliners, he said: "Having only one pilot in any commercial aircraft flies in the face of evidence and logic.

"Every safety protocol we have is predicated on having two pilots work seamlessly together as an expert team cross-checking and backing each other up."

Coast guard footage of US Airways landing into Hudson River

Mr Nordlund, who heads the firm’s innovation arm, Boeing NeXt, insisted single-pilot crews would only be deployed if there was appetite for it from airlines.

He said developments would be driven by the “comfort levels of the consumer”, suggesting passenger concerns about safety – whether well-founded or not – could delay the roll-out of autonomous technology.

But he added: “When it is cargo, that aspect is taken out of the equation.”

Dr Rob Hunter, head of flight safety at the pilot’s union Balpa, said there had been a “steady reduction in the number of crew on the flight deck of commercial aircraft” but voiced concerns that a reduction in flight deck crew, would lead to a “greater number of occasions when the both the machine and the pilot becomes overwhelmed”.

He said: “In the airliners of the post-war period there were up to six crew acting as pilots, flight engineers, navigators and radio operators.

“All of these roles are now undertaken typically by just two pilots that are, more-or-less, supported by automatic systems.

"Sully is absolutely right, to believe otherwise is to ignore the vital role the human plays in keeping things safe."

Airbus, Boeing’s European rival, is developing its own technology to allow a single pilot to operate its commercial jetliners, but is first working on cutting the number of crew needed on long-haul flights to two.

EASA said it was “aware of discussions with aircraft manufacturers about possibilities to reduce the number of pilots in the cockpit of certain aircraft operations, including for cargo” but would not be drawn on how regulations could be altered to accommodate the new technology.

Hypersonic

In June, Boeing unveiled its first vehicle concept for a passenger-carrying hypersonic jet. If realised, it could transport passengers at 3,900mph at an altitude of 90,000ft (around three times higher than existing subsonic jets) from London to New York in two hours.

“Engineers are working company-wide to develop enabling technology that will position the company for the time when customers and markets are ready to reap the benefits of hypersonic flight,” a statement said at the time.

Mr Nordlund said hypersonic travel – at Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound – could become a reality within the next two decades.

Boeing hope the aircraft could be operational by the late 2030s (Boeing)

He said it had the potential to take someone from New York to Tokyo for a lunch meeting before returning them home on the same day.

“Hypersonic travel is probably 10 to 20 years [away],” he said, but added: “There are so many technologies that need to be overcome.

“The technologies are maturing. Outside of having the propulsion to move at that speed, [Boeing is focused on] making sure that the cabin experience is one that is acceptable to passengers. I mean, can you imagine moving at that speed.

“And the materials that are needed for the aircraft to absorb the altitude that it will be flying at, they are all still in work.”

He added: “There needs to be some modelling and simulation around the change of time zones, how would it work, and what time do you leave New York for that lunch in Tokyo?

“There is a lot of work still to be done on it [but] from an aircraft standpoint it is absolutely possible.”

Boeing is also developing plans for a fleet of urban air taxis which, it is hoped, would be used to rapidly transport passengers around some of the world's most densely populated cities.

The plans allow for the aircraft to be piloted or autonomous and to use radar and artificial intelligence to guide them safely towards centralised landing pads, Mr Nordlund said.

He insisted this form of urban air transport, which Boeing is working on alongside Uber, was “absolutely” feasible.