Commissioner Tzitzikostas meets aviation stakeholders to discuss modernising Europe's air traffic management

Today, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas will host a high-level dialogue on the future of Europe's air traffic management (ATM) under the Single European Sky (SES2+) framework – the EU's initiative to make air travel in Europe safer and more efficient by improving how airspace is managed.

Europe's ATM sector is under growing strain as demand continues to rise faster than capacity. Ageing infrastructure, staff shortages, fragmented airspace, and evolving operational requirements are contributing to congestion and delays across the network, affecting both passengers and airlines.

The meeting, taking place in Brussels, will bring together key aviation stakeholders to take stock of the first year of SES2+ implementation and discuss how to tackle the sector's most pressing challenges. The discussions will focus on ensuring sufficient capacity to accommodate dense and growing air traffic across the EU, reducing delays and cancellations, maintaining the highest safety standards, and improving environmental performance.

The Commissioner will exchange on how to speed up the modernisation of Europe's airspace, including through targeted financial support and stronger implementation of EU rules. The dialogue will gather views on related initiatives such as the SESAR programmes aiming to modernise Europe's ATM infrastructure and operational procedures, the performance and charging scheme, the Common Project Regulation, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency regulatory framework.

Ahead of the meeting, Commissioner Tzitzikostas said: "A modern, efficient, and sustainable air traffic management system is essential for Europe's connectivity and competitiveness. This dialogue is an opportunity to work closely together with stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of the Single European Sky, drive the modernisation of our airspace, and deliver a more resilient and better performing European airspace for the benefit of citizens and businesses."

See the webpage on the implementation dialogue for more information.