Will Windowless Planes Become The Future of Air Travel? Emirates to Make it a Reality

Ever felt like touching the clouds sitting in that window seat of a plane? Well, if this plan of Emirates works out then your dreams may probably come true, but with a twist. You will be treated to clouds floating in the sky but not the real ones. One can enjoy peeking out of "virtual windows" at the world below you. Passengers can view images projected from outside the aircraft. The windows use real-time fibre-optic camera technology to provide virtual views of the outside world. The development has kickstarted talks in the aviation world.

Emirates president Sir Tim Clark said the images were "so good, it's better than with the natural eye". Sir Tim told the BBC that the aim was to have planes with no windows. The virtual windows can be found in the first class cabin of Emirates' newest Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

Tim also said, "Imagine now a fuselage as you're boarding with no windows, but when you get inside, there are windows. Now you have one fuselage which has no structural weaknesses because of windows. The aircraft is lighter, the aircraft could fly faster, they will burn far less fuel and fly higher."

Victor Carlioz, co-founder of California-based design studio ACLA Studio, told CNN earlier this year, "Some futuristic concepts show windowless aircraft and, while there may be some structural benefits from getting rid of the windows, there is also another line of thought that says the opposite: having some point of communication with the outside improves the passenger experience."

However, that also raises safety concerns in case of an emergency. Aviation safety expert Professor Graham Braithwaite of Cranfield University said, "Being able to see outside the aircraft in an emergency is important, especially if an emergency evacuation has to take place." However, aviation regulator the European Aviation Safety Agency said that such challenges can be solved. BBC quoted him as saying, "We do not see any specific challenge that could not be overcome to ensure a level of safety equivalent to the one of an aircraft fitted with cabin windows."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 08, 2018 10:49 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).