The third special episode of the Raising the Aviation Bar podcast recorded at Airspace World in Lisbon featured conversations with Anna von Groote, Director General of EUROCAE, Christophe Vivier,  Head of the Single European Sky Unit at EDA, Adrian Cojoc, the Director General of ROMATSA and EUROCONTROL’s Peter Choroba, Head of the Innovation Program and Oscar Alfaro Olive, Head of Data and Digital Products.

Covered in this episode: key aspects influencing industry standards for aviation in Europe, civil-military cooperation, ROMATSA’s implementation of the FF-ICE mandate, the FLY AI initiative and coordinated action to identify where and how artificial intelligence can deliver the greatest value to our sector as well as insights into EUROCONTROL’s air traffic data.

All interviews were recorded at the podcast booth EUROCONTROL set up in cooperation with the 8 Europe For Aviation partners at Airspace World 2026 reflecting the value of bringing partners together at one of the leading global air traffic management events.

In this special episode for the Raising the Aviation Bar podcast recorded at Airspace World in Lisbon, Elisabeth Landrichter, Executive Manager of Austro Control, Áron Eichinger, Director Area Control at HungaroControl, Francesco Gaetani, Flight Standards Director at EASA, and Simon Hocquard, Director General at CANSO give their take on some of the most relevant air traffic management developments and updates from Airspace World.

All interviews were recorded at the podcast booth EUROCONTROL set up in cooperation with the eight other Europe For Aviation partners at Airspace World 2026 reflecting the value of bringing partners together at one of the leading global air traffic management events.

In this special episode for the Raising the Aviation Bar podcast recorded at Airspace World in Lisbon, Filip Cornelis (Director for Aviation at the European Commission), Andreas Boschen (Executive Director, SESAR Joint Undertaking), Mariagrazia La Piscopia (Executive Director, SESAR Deployment Manager), Helena Sjöström Falk (CEO and President, IFATCA) and Predrag Vranjkovic (EUROCONTROL Head of Strategy, Engagement and Institutional Relations) share their perspectives on key priorities for aviation in 2026 and top discussions at Airspace World.

The conversations cover the challenges facing the sector in a complex geopolitical environment, Europe’s innovation priorities, the need to accelerate deployment, the growing role of artificial intelligence in air traffic management and the need to increase resilience. All interviews were recorded at the podcast booth EUROCONTROL set up in cooperation with the 8 Europe For Aviation partners at Airspace World 2026 reflecting the value of bringing partners together at one of the leading global air traffic management events.

As Europe heads into another busy summer season, the EUROCONTROL Network Manager continues to work closely with aircraft operators, air navigation service providers and airports to prepare for peak traffic levels and manage growing pressure on the network.

In this episode, podcast host Anita Zech is joined by Steven Moore, Head of Air Traffic Management Operations at EUROCONTROL, who oversees network operations, transformation and resilience across Europe, and Yolanda Portillo, Head of the Network Manager Operations Centre, responsible for the 24/7 delivery of central air traffic flow management services and operational performance at network level.

Together, they explain why summer operations are increasingly challenging—from traffic growth and airspace constraints to geopolitical disruptions and weather—and how the EUROCONTROL Network Manager plans months and years ahead to balance capacity and demand safely. The discussion explores how capacity and weather‑based procedures are improving network stability, reducing delays and helping the system shift from reactive to more proactive operations.

Steven and Yolanda also share practical advice for airlines, airports and ANSPs as part of the #thinkNetwork campaign, highlighting why individual operational decisions matter for the network as a whole—and why safety remains the overriding priority, even under peak pressure.

In this episode, we sit down with Ourania (Rania) Georgoutsakou, Managing Director of Airlines for Europe (A4E) to discuss key priorities of the airline industry in Europe including competitiveness and connectivity. Representing 16 airline groups that together operate over 80% of Europe’s air traffic, Rania advocates for their interests in Brussels. In our new podcast episode, she gives her take on the ongoing revision of the EU’s passenger rights legislation, highlighting the operational realities faced by airlines, and the need for a more balanced, clearly defined framework that benefits both passengers and operators.

The conversation also examines sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) under the ReFuelEU mandate. Rania shares her views on why mandates alone cannot build a functioning SAF market, explains the economic pressures on airlines, and suggests essential policy incentives that could accelerate investment and production across Europe. 

For A4E, Europe urgently needs a new aviation strategy that better reflects today’s geopolitical and competitive realities – a new strategy that is pro-growth and pro innovation, supporting the entire aviation ecosystem so Europe can stay globally competitive, maintain connectivity, and keep flying accessible for everyone.

And on a more personal note, she shares her personal journey from Athens to Brussels, shaped by a childhood steeped in aviation and a career dedicated to European public policy.

Tune in for a candid, strategic look at how Europe’s airlines are navigating regulatory change, decarbonisation pressures, and the path to a more resilient, competitive aviation ecosystem.

In this podcast episode Major General Karsten Stoye, Head of EUROCONTROL’s Civil-Military Cooperation Division (CMC), explains how EUROCONTROL supports the military in delivering effective missions while balancing civil aviation’s need for safety and predictability. 

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, military activity and vigilance in Europe have increased two to threefold, including a significant rise in training and exercises. At the same time, available airspace for European aircraft operators has decreased due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace, with many long‑haul commercial flights now forced to reroute along Europe’s increasingly busy southeast corridor. In this podcast, Karsten explains these and other challenges, and why there is an increased need for civil-military cooperation in today’s complex geopolitical world. A combat pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours, Karsten has served on more than 70 operational missions, and shares some fascinating personal insights into his life and leadership journey.

Cyprus has taken over the EU Council Presidency at the beginning of 2026.  In this episode of the #RTAB podcast, we speak with Dr. Marina Ioannou Hasapi from Cyprus’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works about the country’s key priorities for the next six months. Ensuring connectivity and competitiveness are the guiding elements for the island nation that experiences high air traffic growth and sees 95% of visitors use air transport. Dr Hasapi shares insights into Cyprus’s plans for international cooperation and why the new direct Larnaca–Brussels route directly supports the work of the presidency. Dr. Hasapi, a trailblazer for women in the public sector in Cyprus, also shares insight into her career mediating in labour disputes and her advice to a young generation seeking leadership roles in aviation.

In this episode of “Raising the Aviation Bar”, we sit down with Enrico Parini, the new Director of European Affairs at CANSO Europe, the voice of the European air traffic management industry. In this role Enrico isn’t just tackling technical challenges – he’s passionate about shaping the future of aviation. Representing 36 air navigation service providers (ANSPs), Enrico’s mission is to make sure their voices are heard at the European level, and to spotlight the vital role they play in keeping aviation – and business – running smoothly across the continent. From managing changing air traffic trends and facing growing capacity challenges to addressing cybersecurity risks and GNSS spoofing, Enrico shares CANSO’s perspective on safeguarding the skies while keeping innovation moving forward.

In this podcast episode, he highlights the vital role of highly skilled ANSP professionals in enabling global connectivity and maintaining Europe’s leadership in air traffic management – paying special tribute to efforts this summer to manage peak traffic, with many area control centres going well beyond their planned commitments to handling network traffic.

Talking to Anastasiia Sobchenko

In this episode of “Raising the Aviation Bar”, EUROCONTROL expert Anastasiia Sobchenko explains a joint initiative between ICAO and EUROCONTROL:  the Location of an Aircraft in Distress Repository (LADR). Developed by EUROCONTROL as part of ICAO’s Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS), LADR supports the aviation community by collecting and sharing the last known position of an aircraft with key operational actors such as airline operators, air navigation service providers, rescue coordination centres and others, so they can act quickly and effectively in an emergency situation. The need to have such a system is clear, with locating missing aircraft proving extremely challenging and costly in disasters like Air France Flight 447 (2009), or to this day unsolved tragedies like the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (2014).

In this episode of Raising the Aviation Bar, Filip Cornelis, Director for Aviation at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), shares his insights as a key member of the Team Europe delegation to the 42nd ICAO General Assembly, a seminal event for world aviation every three years.

Filip walks us through the Assembly’s major outcomes for Europe such as the successful election of all European candidates to the ICAO Council, a new resolution on GNSS interference championed by Europe addressing growing safety and security risks, broader attention to cyber security and aviation’s role in irregular migration. While safety and technical topics remained core, this Assembly was a notably political one — shaped by global tensions and Europe’s proactive stance on many of the key issues on the table.

For the first time, ICAO also saw a resolution adopted on conflict zones, calling on countries to enhance their civil-military coordination to prevent military operations from accidentally interfering with civilian traffic.  Asked about the greatest need for cooperation and support collectively as Team Europe, Filip stressed how GNSS interference is one of the key priorities where the Commission works closely with EUROCONTROL and EASA to ensure Europe’s communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) infrastructure remains resilient even if GNSS or other navigation methods fail.

Filip further reflects on the various bilateral meetings the Commission conducted with non-EU Member States to discuss possible cooperation in the future to improve air traffic, coordination and cooperation. He also discusses the regulatory push to make aviation energy more sustainable, and the ongoing work on STIP, the Commission’s Sustainable Transport Investment Plan - a strategic framework for supporting sustainable transport fuel production and distribution.  And on a more personal level, Filip talks about the roles that have shaped him, and his career as a leading EU official working on European integration and international cooperation in aviation.