Do Pilots Still Land The Plane Themselves?

In the age of self-driving cars, robotic assistants, and autopilot systems, one question continues to come my way! do pilots still land the plane themselves? or whenever you do a nice smooth landing, walk out the flight deck and the first person to see you says, 'Did the autopilot do that?' :(

The short answer is yes—but, the plane can also land itself. So, why dont we just Autoland all of the time? lets break it down.

It gets a little bit technical, so grab a coffee while you can. I just love our Blackbird Blend at the moment which is a beautiful award winning smooth Colombian Coffee.

Autopilot vs. Autoland

Most commercial aircraft are equipped with autopilot systems that handle much of the flying once the plane is in the air. This includes maintaining altitude, heading, and speed. In fact, once we're above 29,000ft in Europe we're flying in airspace that requires you to use the autopilot by law. But landing is a much more complex phase of flight.

Modern aircraft are also equipped with autoland systems. These systems allow the aircraft to land itself, with the pilots simply pressing a couple of buttons and monitoring the process. However, not all airports have the infrastructure to support autoland.

The airport must have an ILS (Instrument Landing System), and it must be approved for something called Category II or Category III ILS to allow an aircraft to autoland. There are numerous requirements that must be met to facilitate this, such as specific lighting on the taxiway and runway, adequate distance between the taxiway and runway, backup power, and redundant systems, among others.

Some airports do not have an ILS and use different types of approaches, which means the aircraft cannot land itself and the pilots must manually land once they have visual contact with the runway.

When Do Pilots Use Autoland?

An Autoland is typically only used when necessary—specifically during an ILS Category II or III approach. We fly these approaches in low visibility conditions, when visibility drops below 550 metres and the cloud base is below 200 feet.

Once the weather reaches this threshold, the airport will "safeguard" the airfield. This means it takes measures to protect the integrity of the ILS signal by ensuring aircraft taxi farther away from the runway to avoid interfering with the system's signal beams. As a result, fewer aircraft can land and taxi at any one time, which can lead to delays. This reduced efficiency is one of the main reasons we don’t use autoland all the time.

In these low-visibility conditions, the aircraft can land automatically— in zero visibility. Technically, we still require a minimum visibility of 75 metres to land. This ensures we can see the runway lighting after touchdown, allowing us to taxi safely to our parking position.

Most Landings Are Manual

In the vast majority of cases—especially in good weather—pilots land the aircraft manually. That means:

• They take over from the autopilot during the final stages of approach (usually below 1,000 feet).

• They use visual references, instruments, and their own hands-on skill to touch down safely.

In fact, most pilots prefer it. Manual landings allow them to stay sharp, keep their skills current, and respond to the subtle nuances of each unique landing situation.

Why Human Pilots Still Matter

Landing a plane isn’t just about guiding it to the runway. It involves:

• Judging wind speed and direction

• Adjusting for turbulence or runway conditions

• Coordinating with air traffic control

• Making split-second decisions

Autoland systems work really well in low visibility, but many airports don’t have the infrastructure to support them. Some airports never will—often due to the surrounding terrain.

For example, in Lanzarote, one of the runways has a large hill just before it. The approach brings you to 2,000 feet around six miles from the runway, and from there, the pilot must manually fly the aircraft visually to land.

Another important point: the autoland system has more restrictive wind limits than the aircraft itself. For instance, in an Airbus, the maximum crosswind we can land in manually is around 44 mph, but for an autoland, the limit is only 23 mph.

So, on a dark, windy, rainy night in the middle of winter—it’s still a human hand guiding the plane to the ground.

Final Approach

So, do pilots still land the plane themselves?

Absolutely.

Technology plays a crucial support role, but it’s the pilots—highly trained, experienced, and constantly evaluated—who are in control when the wheels hit the runway. For all the automation in the skies, the human touch remains at the heart of every safe landing.

If you're still reading, I hope you've learnt something. DM us any questions on our instagram @jetbeancoffee and it's about time you try some of our best seller- JUMBO JET ESPRESSO, known as JJ!

Nathan Raab
Airline Pilot | Better Coffee Advocate | Jet Bean Founder