SESAR Innovation Days showcases the power of collaboration in ATM

The 15th SESAR Innovation Days – held 1-4 December 2025, in Lake Bled, Slovenia – demonstrated how collaboration across research, industry and operations is driving tangible progress towards a Digital European Sky.

Keynotes and plenary sessions highlighted advances for European airports, including the new service delivery model, which promises greater system flexibility and faster deployment of innovation. A central theme was human-machine teaming – with important implications for airport operations, safety oversight and workforce evolution. Additionally, topics of focus included sessions on satellite-based navigation, virtual operations and cybersecurity, underlining the need for airports to be fully integrated into future-proof ATM architectures.

The conference also highlighted emerging talent through the SESAR Young Scientist Award, which – for this year in particular – recognised research designed to improve airport operations. In the student category, Vera Tessa Cornelie Buis of Wageningen University & Research, in collaboration with LVNL, received first place for applying machine learning techniques to improve airport visibility forecasting, particularly in low-visibility conditions. In the PhD category, Hannes Braßel of Technische Universität Dresden was awarded first place for his work on enhancing ground safety at airports, with solutions scalable across different airport environments and future vertiports.

The SESAR Innovation Days 2026 will take place in Cork, Ireland. Hosted by University College Cork and supported by Cork Airport, this next edition promises to further advance Europe’s ATM innovation journey – with airports at the heart.

Find out more here.