CANSO Leadership Summit 2026: From Vision to Delivery sets the stage for Airspace World
Lisbon, Portugal, Monday 25 May 2026 – Over 300 senior aviation leaders convened today at the Myriad Crystal Centre in Lisbon for the CANSO Leadership Summit 2026, the official opening event of Airspace World 2026. The Summit brought together chief executive officers and senior representatives from CANSO Member organisations, regulatory bodies, and global aviation stakeholders for a day of strategic dialogue focused on translating vision into operational reality.
Under the theme “From Vision to Delivery – Skies in Transition,” the CANSO Leadership Summit 2026 explored how ambitious global visions for the future of aviation are being translated into concrete actions, investments, and meaningful operational change across the air traffic management (ATM) industry.
The morning commenced with a warm welcome and statement from Tim Arel, CANSO Chair of Board of Directors, followed by Simon Hocquard, CANSO President and CEO, who delivered a comprehensive state of the industry presentation.
During his opening remarks, Simon said: “Systems do not transform themselves, people lead that transformation. As leaders in this room, your role is not just to respond to change, but to shape how your organisations navigate it. Creating clarity in complexity, proactively driving collaboration, investing in people, embracing agility, and thinking beyond traditional boundaries.”
This set the stage for the keynote address by Kiko Dontchev, Vice President of Launch at SpaceX, who offered a unique perspective on translating bold vision into real-world delivery at scale – insights equally applicable to the global ATM transformation.
The centrepiece of the Leadership Summit was a high-level Global Panel: From Vision to Global Deployment, moderated by Mark Pilling, Managing Editor at Aviation Week Network. The panel brought together a diverse group of leaders spanning the full aviation ecosystem with the discussion addressing the challenges of alignment, investment, regulatory harmonisation, and the operational readiness required to move from aspirational goals to tangible results.
The afternoon continued with a regional spotlight where representatives from CANSO regions shared concrete examples of how the transition is being advanced on the ground. This session demonstrated how global direction translates into regional action through innovative solutions, technology adoption, capacity building, and lessons learned from early implementers.
The CANSO Leadership Summit 2026 concluded with a wrap-up and fireside chat between Simon Hocquard and Tim Arel, reinforcing CANSO’s role as a platform for alignment, collaboration, and delivery across the global ATM community. As leaders departed for the Airspace World 2026 Opening Reception, the stage was set for an unprecedented week ahead. Starting tomorrow at Feira Internacional de Lisboa, Airspace World will build on the foundation laid today: transforming the CANSO Leadership Summit’s vision of collaboration and coordinated delivery into concrete industry action.
