Guppy has the floor and the answer in one, a corollary of which is that every unmanned airplane or vehicle is just that, unmanned.
You would never convince the traveling public to get into an unmanned vehicle that operates in more than two dimensions. Whenever called upon to travel in back, I am part of the traveling public.
What about trains, I hear you ask.
Trains operate in two dimensions. Airliners operate in three. The difference is vast and fully misunderstood by the posters who suggest remote control, proof of which we have Guppy to validate from experience.
QED.
Why not just provide the proper equipment to enable the pilot to see through the smoke? Better still, more stringent prosecution of wiful violations and misleading information provided to shippers.
Money talks.