FABEC Airspace User Associations Consultation Meeting

Luxembourg, 1 July 2025 – Anticipating a demanding summer for European aviation, airspace users and representatives of FABEC Member States gathered yesterday in Luxembourg for the annual FABEC Airspace User Associations Consultation Meeting. The event comes at a time when air navigation service providers (ANSPs) face a combination of complex challenges including heightened traffic volatility due to ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty, severe weather events, staffing shortages, and industrial actions.

In a year-to-date comparison, between January and May flight traffic across the FABEC area increased by 4.2% to reach 2.35 million flights—a clear sign of accelerating activity in an already dense and complex airspace. Home to major international hubs such as Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Zurich, the region continues to see unprecedented levels of complexity and demand.

FABEC President Laura Könner, Director General of Civil Aviation for Luxembourg, convened the meeting to reaffirm Member States’ commitment to dialogue and cooperation.

The only way to manage one of the busiest and most complex airspaces is to work closely together. In order to keep Europe’s aviation system safe, efficient, sustainable and moving, everyone—ANSPs, airlines, airports, regulators, and the Network Manager—must do their part in close coordination and with a shared sense of responsibility, said Könner.

Through ongoing collaboration with the Network Manager, FABEC continues to enhance the predictability and flexibility of air traffic management. Key projects—including Free Route Airspace and Cross-Border Arrival Management (XMAN)—are focused on increasing the network’s capacity and resilience while contributing to the reduction of aviation’s environmental footprint:

• Free Route Airspace (FRA): Allowing operators to plan more direct trajectories across FABEC airspace, boosting efficiency and reducing fuel burn.
• Cross-Border Arrival Management (XMAN): Enhancing the predictability of arrival flows into high-density airports and increasing network resilience during disruptions.

Established under the FABEC Treaty of 2 December 2010, the annual consultation provides a platform for open exchange between stakeholders and underscores FABEC’s role in ensuring smooth and efficient traffic flow through the core of the European network.

Find the original press release of FABEC under this link.