CANSO Says Greater Airspace Capacity Requires Automation and Strategy

Rapid growth in air transport demand, alongside the emergence of new airspace users such as urban air mobility vehicles and drones, is creating mounting pressure on air traffic management (ATM) systems that remain largely dependent on tactical, human-centric decision-making, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) warns.

“When people talk about capacity, they think of new airports, new aircraft and the supply chain,” CANSO president and CEO Simon Hocquard said at the Changi Aviation Summit. “For airspace, if it keeps up with demand, it’s invisible. But as soon as it doesn’t, it becomes bad news.”

With global passenger traffic expected to triple over the coming decades, Hocquard argued that air navigation service providers cannot simply scale controller numbers in parallel. Instead, he called for greater government investment in automation and advanced ATM technologies, which he estimates could unlock up to 30% more airspace capacity.

“Today, air traffic management is based on reaction—it’s tactical,” Hocquard said. “The future is about doing it strategically, with more strategic control. You can’t do that without automation.”

He noted that around 70% of current ATM investment is still directed toward maintaining legacy systems and procedures, limiting the pace of transformation. Hocquard also noted that innovation in air traffic management offers little first-mover advantage, as many concepts—such as trajectory-based operations—require neighboring air navigation service providers to reach similar levels of technological maturity to be effective.

CANSO sees Asia-Pacific as a region with strong potential for deeper cross-border cooperation, including rethinking air traffic controller licensing. Hocquard suggested moving from geography-based licensing toward system-based qualifications, allowing controllers to be redeployed more flexibly as demand shifts across regions.