[Sargos]

It's sad that pilots can no longer fly without GPS assistance. They really are the equivalent of fancy bus drivers.

[NikkiA]

Airline pilots had an engineer at the time before GPS was available, asking a 2-crew system to handle VOR-to-VOR or (non-FMS) IRS navigation as well as their regular navigation load isn't really feasible.

That said, most airliners still have a backup IRS, and can still fly a regular flight plan with IRS and no-GPS, it's just 10 seconds extra setup time at the start of flight.

(trying to go back to IRS-only transatlantic/pacific flights might be a problem due to drift, but GPS still works outside of the small area Russia is jamming anyway, so we're not at that point yet)

[atlantic]

Commercial air traffic density is much higher than it used to be a couple of decades ago. It's no longer just a question of navigating, but also of staying in your alloted volume of space during the flight.

[simonblack]

GPS is relatively new (only the last 30 years or so).

There was a whole set of navigational aids available to pilots beforehand; NDBs, VORs, TACAN, LORAN, RADAR, etc, etc, etc.

AND OF COURSE, THE BEST OF ALL, THE HUMAN EYE AND A WAC CHART.