CANSO Africa Conference 2026

Following the decision to postpone Airspace Africa and Middle East and the CANSO Africa and Middle East Summit to 2027, CANSO welcomed its Africa Members and others back to Nairobi, Kenya, for the CANSO Africa Conference 2026.

INTRODUCTION

The theme for the CANSO Africa Conference 2026 was “Practical Implementation Pathways – ATM Transformation and the ANSP Changing Landscape”

The ability of the global aviation system to continue supporting sustainable and inclusive growth will increasingly depend on modern, resilient, interoperable, and digitally enabled airspace and air traffic management (ATM) systems.

Future aviation growth, resilience, and sustainability cannot be achieved without significant transformation of ATM and airspace infrastructure. Airspace systems form the operational backbone of international aviation by enabling safe operations, network connectivity, capacity creation, operational resilience, environmental optimisation, and the integration of new operational models and emerging users. As Africa embarks on the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) this has never been so critical.

Making necessary choices, prioritising and sequencing the investments based on clear outcomes becomes our biggest objective. For example, how do we find the baseline and allow for minimum but critical capabilities that allow us to provide the most appropriate service to all airspace users? How do we scale up?

Through expert-led sessions, interactive dialogue, and collaborative workshops, participants:

Unpacked the priorities.
Discussed possible pathways towards achieving the minimum capabilities.
Discovered the role of various stakeholders as we scale up and transform ATM together.

The CANSO Africa Conference 2026 was a unique opportunity to connect vision with implementation, and strategy with collaboration—ensuring that Africa’s skies evolve in step with global innovation, while reflecting the region’s ambitions, realities and opportunities.