Airspace World 2025 is set to be the biggest since the event was launched in 2023.
Taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, on 13-15 May, CANSO can now confirm that the exhibition floor will be larger than the two previous events in Geneva, Switzerland.
Mike Treacher, CANSO’s Vice President, Sales, said: “Airspace World 2025 is the global event where the worlds of manned and unmanned aviation come together to agree on the path to realising the full potential of a global airspace.
“It’s where senior leaders debate and determine the future of airspace, and where our industry shares its ideas, technologies, strategies, hopes, challenges, experiences, best practices, and case-studies with a vast audience of ATM and UTM specialists.
“With seven months to go we are really excited that our exhibition will be bigger than ever as we welcome new exhibitors and our existing friends from the crewed and uncrewed aviation space to Lisbon.”
CANSO launches call for content for Airspace World 2025
CANSO has launched its call for content for Airspace World 2025.
The call for content is the chance for members of the ATM and UTM community to showcase their expertise at the world’s leading airspace, near space and unmanned aviation event.
Bringing together the entire aviation community to define future skies, Airspace World will include three days of debate, discussion and conversation spread across its five theatres and packed exhibition floor.
Agnes Krishik, Airspace World Show Director, said: “This call for content is an exceptional opportunity for innovators, thought leaders, and visionaries to share their insights and expertise on the future of airspace. Whether you represent an industry giant or are an emerging voice in aviation, this is your platform to influence the next chapter in ATM, UTM, AAM, and aerospace. Your ideas could be the catalyst that shapes tomorrow’s skies—now is your moment to stand out and make a lasting impact.”
Those interested in appearing at Airspace World 2025 are invited to submit their presentation proposal by 15 January 2025.
“Please share your ideas, experiences, innovations, and practical insights to help shape the future of our skies,” Agnes added.
CANSO is again partnering with ATM Magazine to deliver the next Air Traffic Management Awards, brought to you by Airspace World. The awards ceremony will take place during Airspace World 2025 in Lisbon.
The awards encourage pioneering concepts and acknowledge significant achievements by leaders, initiatives, and organisations in ATM and UTM.
Entries are welcome from all ATM, UTM, UAM/AAM, UAS, and C-UAS stakeholders: manufacturers, software developers, research agencies, standards organisations, air navigation service providers, regulators, drone service providers and operating companies, airports, and aircraft operating companies.
This year there are six individual categories plus an overall winner to be judged by a panel of experts from our industry.
Innovation to enable Sustainable Future Skies
Building a resilient ATM framework for the future
Collaboration and community
Pathway to Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)
Unleashing the Potential of Drones
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)
Getting ready for space traffic management
Higher airspace operations and space traffic management were in the spotlight at the Future Skies Theatre.
Rocket flies through the clouds on moonlight 3d illustration
The session covered the second phase of the European Concept of Higher airspace Operations (ECHO2) project, which is running for three years (2023-2026) and includes multiple partners.
The aim is to provide an interface between conventional air traffic management (ATM) and higher airspace operations, including space traffic.
ECHO2 will include a module for monitoring space launches in Network Manager for increased situational awareness. There will also be procedural packages covering specific ground and air-ground issues, including the integration of supersonic, hypersonic and suborbital vehicle operations into ATM.
It was noted that the right coordination mechanisms between ATM and space traffic management are essential to future operations. ECHO2 will lead to validated solutions that support the further development of this exciting new sector.
It was also stressed that although this is a European initiative, space launches anywhere in the world are global events and are happening at an increasing rate. A second stage of a rocket can come back down to Earth half a world away and often the ANSPS affected are those with the least resources.
Moreover, because this is a fast-developing area and there will be new standards and services as technologies improve and traffic increases, it is vital to build the best possible foundation at the earliest opportunity and use that to inform decisions.
Applications open for the SESAR Young Scientist Award 2024
Are you a young scientist active in the field of air traffic management (ATM) and aviation? Are you looking for the perfect opportunity to showcase your talent and advance your career? If yes, then look no further… the SESAR Young Scientist Award is for you!
The SESAR Young Scientist Award recognises young scientists, who have demonstrated excellence in ATM and aviation-related research fields. The award also provides researchers starting out in their career with an opportunity for further professional development.
A further objective of the award is to showcase the potential of young talent to formulate fresh ideas and solutions to the challenges facing ATM and aviation.
The 2024 edition of the award has widened its scope from previous years and is now open to two categories:
PhD scientists; with the chance to receive a prize of EUR 10 000
Undergraduate or Master students; with the chance to win a prize of EUR 5 000
Contributions are welcome from citizens or residents in an EU Member State or an Associated Country to the Horizon Europe Research and Development Framework Programme (Horizon Europe).
Up to three short-listed candidates for each category will be invited to join the SESAR Innovation Days 2024 from 11-15 November in Rome, where the winner of each category will be publicly announced during a dedicated ceremony.
At a session on planning for the expected and unexpected at the Boeing Theatre, case studies on disruptive events showed how air navigation service providers (ANSPs) can improve the resiliency of their operations by planning ahead.
Although each crisis is different, there are some common themes that can be pulled out to help the industry as a whole.
Space launches are becoming commonplace in the United States, for example, with up to 180 expected in 2024. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has therefore become practised in handling them.
The FAA uses the information in the initial notification to evaluate the potential impact. If necessary, the date and time of a launch can be moved depending on the operational requirements. Once a launch date and time is agreed, a high-level airspace management plan is developed and disseminated so all relevant parties are aware of the disruption. The FAA coordinates the various activities and is also the tactical focal point on the day. Finally, it organises a post-event analysis and debrief to understand any lessons learned.
Meanwhile, Aerothai must deal with a regional major military exercise, known as COBRA GOLD. In 2023, this involved 27 nations and some 150 aircraft as well as ground and naval exercises.
Multi-stakeholder coordination spanning the strategic, pre-tactical and tactical phases is essential and last year resulted in four air traffic flow management solutions being deployed. Aerothai uses all available tools and procedures are constantly reviewed. Although this is an annual event, there can never be a cut and paste approach.
When Australia hosted the G20 summit in 2014, it had to deal with the arrival and departure of 27 Heads of Government. Moreover, the airspace above and surrounding the meeting had to be managed and watched extremely carefully. This meant the military was heavily involved and so two key positions were created – one civil, one military – that sat side by side to ensure seamless operations.
Finally, Japan Air Navigation Services shared the story of the 2011 Japanese earthquake that temporarily closed major airports, including Haneda and Narita in Tokyo.
Their key takeaway was the value of emergency exercises and being prepared for such an event. If an airspace or airport is prone to extreme events, these should never take an ANSP by surprise. The value of collaborative decision making and communication were also highlighted. It is essential to establish the relationships that will help an ANSP to maintain business continuity and enjoy a speedy recovery.
CANSO has published a document that covers these use cases and many more and extrapolates lessons learned and recommended practices.
EUR 26 Million Investment: SESAR JU unveils new projects for smarter air traffic management
The aim with the selected projects is to foster new and innovative ideas connected to EU policy to transform air traffic management in Europe, as well as encouraging coordinated exchange of knowledge and stimulating the future ATM skilled workforce. It is composed of two work areas, namely “ATM excellence science research and outreach” and “ATM application-oriented research”.
The call topics are part of the research and innovation priorities outlined in the SESAR 3 JU’s multi-annual work programme and in the more recently published bi-annual work programme. They cover a wide range of areas that are needed in order to deliver the Digital European Sky, according to the timeframe of the European ATM Master Plan.
The projects were selected as a result of a call for proposals launched in 2023 followed by a rigorous evaluation of the submitted proposals by independent experts. The official launch of the projects is subject to the completion of grant preparation in the coming weeks.
The Future Skies: Tomorrow’s Voices initiative had a huge impact on the final day of Airspace World. Across a breakfast and multiple sessions, some key points in the attraction and retention of young professionals were highlighted, some of which are not always considered.
A hybrid environment has pros and cons, for example. For the younger generation, it is seen as a positive, providing not only work-life flexibility but also the opportunity to speak up. The virtual environment can enable a confidence that is sometimes missing in the physical world with bigger, older voices dominating conversations.
But from the point of view of leadership however, a hybrid environment can make it difficult to create the right culture and to fully understand the needs of individuals, which are more apparent when working side-by-side in an office.
Another concept very rarely at the front of mind is reverse mentorship – where the younger generation share their insights and inspire leaders. The concept is attributed to Jack Welch, the famous former boss of General Electric. Essentially, young professionals are more attuned to the capabilities and promise of new technologies and procedures and have a stronger affiliation with future plans. The process could add tremendous value to an organisation, as could the impact of healthy equality and diversity policies. A CANSO/Firstfruits survey showed, for example, that gender imbalance is perceived as a health and wellbeing issue rather than pay, and 75 per cent agree that their organisation is an inclusive place to work.
The CANSO/Firstfruits survey highlighted five factors in attraction and retention:
Support for health and wellbeing
Inclusivity and diversity
Meaningfulness of work
Reliable and supportive people
Total compensation
Cross-referencing the responses it was clear that, in terms of attraction, passion for the sector counts more than money. This will be a challenge for air traffic management (ATM), often termed “the invisible highway”. People walk through airports and fly on aircraft, but the orchestrator of air traffic connectivity, ATM, can go unnoticed.
The importance of diversity in recruitment rounded out the conversations. One tip is to focus on the strength of people as this will naturally lead to diversity. Different backgrounds have different abilities and so pursuing diversity will inevitably lead to a stronger organisation.
The aim should be to build young, diverse teams, get them to work together and then enjoy the positive results.
As we enter the last hours of a great Airspace World 2024, here are a few more pictures to highlights the success of our event. You can see, and download to keep, all our pictures on the Airspace World 2024 Flickr.
CANSO and EUROAVIA partner to promote European cooperation through education, dialogue, and outreach
CANSO and EUROAVIA have signed a partnership at Airspace World 2024 aimed at attracting young professionals to the Air Traffic Management (ATM) industry.
The organisations agreed to collaborate in a number of areas including hosting joint workshops to educate young people about the ATM industry, facilitating networking opportunities, and creating internships and careers fairs.
“We are delighted that CANSO has signed an MOU with EUROAVIA – the European Association of Aerospace Students. This agreement strengthens our commitment to creating a pipeline of talent that will deliver our future skies” said Simon Hocquard, Director General, CANSO.
“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with CANSO at Airspace World 2024. This presents a unique opportunity for EUROAVIA to build a stronger relationship with the Air Traffic Management sector alongside CANSO, a key driver in the sector’s development,” added Leo Buchner, President, EUROAVIA.
Together, EUROAVIA and CANSO are starting by organising career fairs/industry days, joint workshops, seminars, or webinars with the aim of fostering knowledge exchange and professional development among the members of both parties.
