What this theme covers
Seamless Skies for All addresses the fundamental expansion of who uses managed airspace — and what ATM must become to serve them. ASW 2026 sessions in this track cover the integration of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft into existing airspace and airport infrastructure; the emergence of space transport operations in shared civil airspace; the return of supersonic commercial flight and the airspace management implications; and the scaling of high-altitude platform operations.
This is the track where aviation's near-future converges with ATM's operational present. eVTOL aircraft are moving from test flights to commercial certification. The first AAM services in urban and regional corridors are operational or in advanced regulatory approval. Space launch operations from European facilities are creating recurring temporary airspace restrictions that must be integrated into the flow management picture.
The track also hosts the Pathway to Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Executive Summit — a dedicated leadership forum on what AAM ecosystem development requires from regulators, ANSPs, airports, and vertiport operators to reach commercial scale.
Why it matters now
The regulatory frameworks for AAM and eVTOL integration are being finalised in 2025–26. EASA's Special Condition for VTOL and the proposed means of compliance for vertiport design are moving from draft to adopted standards. The window in which ANSPs can shape those standards — rather than inherit them — is closing. ASW 2026 is the primary venue where ANSP leadership, regulators, and AAM operators will negotiate the operational frameworks that determine whether urban air mobility scales or stalls.
Space launches from European soil are no longer a theoretical scenario. With commercial launch activity increasing from sites in the UK, Norway, and the Portuguese Azores, the integration of launch windows into European airspace flow management is an operational requirement, not a research question.
Five questions, answered
What is Advanced Air Mobility and when will it operate at scale?
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is the category of aviation services using novel aircraft designs — principally eVTOL aircraft — to provide passenger and cargo transport in urban, suburban, and regional corridors that are not currently served by commercial aviation. The primary applications are urban air taxi services between city centres and airports, medical logistics, and regional connectivity to locations without conventional airport access.
The first commercial AAM services are operating in limited corridors as of 2025–26, with full-scale network operations dependent on completing type certification for leading aircraft designs, finalising vertiport design standards, and establishing the airspace management frameworks governing low-altitude urban operations. Most industry projections place initial commercial scale operations in major cities in the 2027–2030 timeframe.
What does eVTOL integration require from air navigation service providers?
eVTOL integration requires ANSPs to extend their operational scope and tooling into altitudes and airspace volumes they have not previously managed — specifically the low-altitude urban airspace below 1,000 feet where city-centre vertiport operations will occur. The integration challenge is threefold: managing the density of eVTOL operations alongside existing helicopter traffic and drone activity; providing or enabling the real-time airspace information services that eVTOL operators need for dynamic route planning; and coordinating with U-space service providers who will manage the lower urban airspace volumes.
The ANSP's role in AAM varies across jurisdictions. In Europe, the U-space framework creates a structured interface between ANSPs (who provide U-space Common Information Services) and U-space Service Providers (who manage individual drone and eVTOL operations). The 2026 question is how that interface performs at the density and dynamics of commercial eVTOL operations.
How are space launch operations integrated into civil airspace management?
Space launch operations create temporary hazard areas — volumes of airspace that must be cleared during the launch window and recovery operations. Integrating these into civil airspace flow management requires advance notice to the Network Manager and national ANSPs, reservation of airspace volumes in the ATFM planning process, and real-time coordination with ATC during the launch and recovery sequence.
As launch frequency increases from European commercial spaceports, the operational burden on the Network Manager and affected ANSPs grows. CANSO's 2026 session on space transport operations addresses the developing operational standards and the data-sharing frameworks needed to make launch integration routine rather than exceptional.
What does supersonic commercial flight mean for ATM?
The return of commercial supersonic flight — with multiple manufacturers pursuing certification for aircraft capable of Mach 1.7–1.8 on transatlantic and transpacific routes — creates airspace management requirements that have not been operational since Concorde retired in 2003. Supersonic cruise requires stratospheric altitudes above FL600 that are rarely used by current commercial traffic, and oceanic tracks that may need reconfiguration to accommodate the performance envelope.
The integration challenge is manageable for oceanic airspace but more complex for overland routing, where sonic boom restrictions under ICAO and national regulation limit where supersonic cruise is permitted. ANSPs with responsibility for oceanic airspace — NAV CANADA, NATS, and the Portuguese ANSP for North Atlantic tracks — are closest to the practical planning questions.
What is a vertiport and what does it require from the airport system?
A vertiport is the infrastructure facility serving eVTOL operations — providing landing pads, charging or refuelling capability, passenger processing, and the operational services needed to turn aircraft around efficiently. Vertiports may be standalone facilities (rooftop or ground-level), co-located with existing helipads, or integrated into conventional airport terminals.
The ATM implications of vertiports arise from their role as nodes in the low-altitude urban airspace network. Vertiport capacity, turnaround times, and the approach and departure routes they require must be coordinated with the surrounding airspace structure — including conventional airport control zones where city-centre vertiports are proximate to major airports. EASA's vertiport design standards, expected to be adopted in 2026, set the regulatory baseline for European vertiport development.
Sessions covering this theme
ASW 2026 sessions under this track cover AAM certification progress, eVTOL airspace integration, space transport operations, and the Pathway to AAM Executive Summit.
What ASW 2025 told us about this theme
ASW 2025 introduced AAM integration as a formal programme track for the first time, reflecting the shift from research to operational planning. Read the ASW 2025 retrospective
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