It may be hard to believe (I thought it was a joke at first), but the idea of autonomous airplanes—passenger planes with no human pilots aboard—is being actively considered.

I had to find out more! Not surprisingly, it's a contentious and controversial topic. Pilots groups have formed coalitions against this and as it turns out, passengers aren't so eager either. With data gathered from the International Transport Workers Federation's global poll , I charted several country's feelings about autonomous airplanes.