Airspace World 2026 brought together the global Air Traffic Management (ATM) and aviation community for three days of insight, collaboration and connection in Lisbon, Portugal. The event provided over 7000 attendees and 220 exhibitors the opportunity to share knowledge, build valuable relationships and take new ideas and learnings back to their organisations to help drive positive change across the industry1.
IFATCA was represented throughout the event by President and CEO (PCX) Helena Sjöström Falk, EVP Professional Trish Gilbert, EVP Europe Benjamin Fichtner, SESAR Coordinator Marc Baumgartner and Communication and Industry Partners Coordinator Nicola Ni Riada.
CANSO Leadership Summit
The CANSO Leadership Summit kicked off on 25th May under the theme “From Vision to Delivery – Skies in Transition”. The Summit explored how ambitious global visions for future skies are being translated into concrete actions, investments, and operational change.
The programme started with updates from CANSO Chair Tim Arel and Director General Simon Hocquard. This was followed by an inspiring keynote speech from Kiko Dontchev, Vice President of Launch at SpaceX, who gave attendees a unique insight into the space sector.
That set the scene for a high-level panel discussion, “From Vision to Global Deployment”, moderated by Mark Pilling of Aviation Week. The panel examined the pathway from global policy and vision—in particular recent ICAO Assembly outcomes—to coordinated, scalable deployment. Panellists included were ACI Director General Justin Erbacci, CANSO President & CEO Simon Hocquard, Airlines for Europe (A4E) Ourania Georgoutsakou, ANAC (Portuguese Civil Aviation Authority) Duarte Silva and Indra Group EVP ATC, Victor Martinez Garcia.
The KEY quote came from Victor Martinez Garcia, “Technology moves at the speed of innovation, change moves at the speed of trust.”
The Summit concluded with a regional spotlight session, showcasing how CANSO regions are advancing ATM transition through concrete initiatives, innovative solutions, and lessons learned. By connecting global direction with regional action, the Leadership Summit reinforced CANSO’s role as a platform for alignment, collaboration, and delivery across the ATM community. The event closed with the Airspace World 2026 Opening Reception, which provided an opportunity for continued dialogue. The same evening, EVP Europe Benjamin Fichtner, and SESAR coordinator Marc Baumgartner attended the SESAR Joint Undertaking reception engaging with key stakeholders there.
Giving Air Traffic Controllers a Voice
A central objective throughout the event was ensuring the perspective of air traffic controllers (ATCOs) was represented in discussions shaping the future of ATM. IFATCA contributed to several panel discussions.
Panel Participation
“Fireside Chat: What will be AI’s role in Air Traffic Management?” Helena Sjöström Falk, PCX participated with L3Harris’s Holly Apgar in the discussion moderated by Sharon Pinkerton (A4A). During the fireside discussion, Helena noted the challenges while acknowledging the potential opportunities associated with integrating Artificial Intelligence into ATM systems. She argued that AI must evolve as a supportive tool to assist human operators. Professional judgment and the human connection behind every decision must remain central to ensure safety and resilience. She emphasized that integrating AI responsibly into Air Traffic Management (ATM) requires organizational trust and confidence between the technology and the controllers using it. Her message centered on prioritizing the human element amid rapid technological advancement in Air Traffic Management, the core message was that new technologies in the airspace will fail to deliver safety and efficiency unless they are built around the people using them.
“Tomorrow’s Voices: Building the Talent and Innovation Ecosystem Aviation Needs.” Benjamin Fichtner EVP Europe, participated in a discussion examining how the aviation community can attract, develop and retain new talent required to support future ATM operations and innovation.
“Innovation to Enable Future Skies: Building Resilience and Efficiency or Building Complexity?” Trish Gilbert, EVP Professional contributed to a panel moderated by Yasudha Sahi from Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO). She highlighted that adoption is likely more successful when ATCOs shape the tools they will use, making the technology more operationally relevant and trusted. Without ATCO involvement, skepticism and lack of confidence increases. It won’t be because the technology failed—it’ll be because it was designed without fully collaborating and understanding the human.
“Change Management as a Mandatory Enabler for ATM Transformation.” Marc Baumgartner, EASA CORD, brought a distinctly IFATCA perspective to the discussion highlighting that successful ATM transformation requires more than technological advancement. His key message was that sequencing matters more than speed. While the SESAR Master Plan has evolved for more than 15 years, fundamental questions remain unresolved: What will be the controller’s role in the future ATM system? Will they be supervisors, decision-makers, or AI co-pilots? The answer oscillates — and that ambiguity is not a communication failure. It is a governance failure.
Marc emphasised that integrating AI into the decision-making loop raises critical questions about accountability, liability and Just Culture when an AI-assisted decision contributes to a safety event. While regulatory frameworks such as the EU AI Act and EASA’s NPA 2025-07 are starting to address these issues, the operational implications remain under development. The operational question — Just Culture in a hybrid human-AI environment — remains open. Change management in a safety-critical system must define liability before certifying tools, establish workforce trust before applying performance metrics, and resolve the human role before automating human functions.
“ATCO Shortage: Can the Number of Active ATCOs Catch Up with Traffic Growth?” Benjamin Fichtner EVP Europe, participated alongside representatives from ROMATSA and BULATSA. He addressed one of the industry’s most pressing challenges; ensuring sufficient controller staffing to meet growing traffic demand.
“Co-Designing Change for Future Skies: A Human-Centred Approach to ATM Transformation.” Helena Sjöström Falk, PCX emphasised the importance of involving operational experts throughout the design, testing, and implementation of ATM transformation programmes, ensuring that technological progress remains centred on human performance and safety.
Helena argued that successful airspace transformation is not merely a technical exercise. Instead, it relies on building organizational culture, motivation, and professional trust so that controllers feel confident in using new systems. In addition to that, she championed the idea that future systems must be co-designed with the operators. Systems must adapt to human needs rather than forcing controllers to adapt to rigid automated workflows. She reiterated that Artificial Intelligence must remain a supportive tool to assist and augment controllers, ensuring human-in-the-loop safety is never compromised.
Strengthening Partnerships
Benjamin Fichtner EVP Europe participated in activities at the Eurocontrol Innovation Hub (Eurocontrol stand), while PCX Helena Sjöström Falk attended the Airspace World 2026 official opening ceremony. Subsequent networking and exhibition activities provided significant visibility for IFATCA resulting in multiple media engagements, including interviews with Eurocontrol2 and another with CANSO.
The major highlight of the event was the signing of a MOU between IFATCA and International Centre for Aviation Innovation (ICAI)3. PCX Helena Sjöström Falk and ICAI CEO Patrick Ky signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. This is in line with the board’s decision to strengthen our ties with other organisations, establishing a framework for future cooperation and collaboration. IFATCA also continued its engagement with CANSO through participation at the Global Council Meeting.
Airspace World provided valuable opportunities to engage with IFATCA’s Industry Partners, as well as potential partners. All are at the forefront of advancing airspace innovation and helping drive the industry forward. The IFATCA delegation met with numerous current and prospective industry partners throughout the event, including L3Harris, NACO, SAAB, United ATS, CAE, Adacel, Indra, Entry Point North, Gate Aviation, Thales, Frequentis, Rohde & Schwarz, Scioteq,Vibe, Skysoft ATM, Deepblue, FOXATM, Skeydrone and METSAFE.
INDRA sponsored the IFATCA Annual conference 2026 last month but was unable to attend. Meeting them at Airspace World allowed us to thank them in person. We also took the opportunity to give newly upgraded premium partners United ATS and CAE their partner certificates, as well as meeting new standard partner Skeydrone and giving them their certificate.
Along with our existing Partners we met with Simon Piromallo Di Montebello from Leonardo, who had reached out to inquire about becoming an Industry Partner.
Meeting with colleagues from organisations including ICAO, CANSO, Eurocontrol, the FAA, IFATSEA, IFAIMA, IFISA, the Global Alliance, ATCEUC, SESAR JU and others strengthened IFATCA’s position as the global voice of air traffic controllers. These face to face meetings are invaluable in fostering relationships.
Airspace World 2026 once again demonstrated the importance of collaboration between operational professionals, industry, regulators, service providers, and technology developers. Across conference sessions, stakeholder meetings, and industry discussions, IFATCA ensured that the voice of the air traffic controller remained central to conversations about the future of aviation.
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1 Agenda – Airspace World 2026
©2026 The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA). IFATCA is the recognized global body representing air traffic controller associations. Founded more than 60 years ago, IFATCA now represents professionals in over 130 countries, advocating for safety, efficiency, and the welfare of air traffic controllers worldwide.
