Aviation Intelligence Reporter July 2026
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Have We Reached Peak Summit?
The European experiment has given us many things, including a rotating presidency. In addition to the fun of explaining that to anyone outside Europe, another of the upsides of that is that the chatterati of aviation have been taken, over time, on a wonderful discovery tour of all parts of the Union, from north to south, from east to west and in the last month, the very south-east of Europe, to Cyprus and to the Cypriot presidency-hosted Aviation Strategy Summit. See what they did there? As the Commission drafts an update to its Aviation Strategy, it was thought that banging the word ‘Strategy’ into the title would be a good idea. The tourism strategy, also the responsibility of DG MOVE, was ignored. Did the summit, sorry Summit, talk strategy? After a fashion.
The CANSO AGM, and the (Sort of Brave, New) Airspace World
By Jacques Mason, independent aviation analyst
Airspace World 2026 is now behind us, and it was once again a pleasure to reconnect with so many familiar faces from across the globe, all sharing the same passion for ATM and its future evolution. It was again in Lisbon, as the summer heat and the summer tourism influx gets into gear. The relationship between aviation and overtourism is well known, but a PhD remains to be written on the role ATM plays in overtourism.
The show was around 10% bigger than last year and well-attended – though some exhibitors noted numbers dropped off quite quickly from day one. Given what else happens in June – AGMs as far as the eye can see – it is probably not surprising. Plus, as noted, Lisbon is an attractive tourist destination.
The IATA AGM: They Had One Job
Once upon a time, just before the start of IATA’s annual Annual General Meeting, the IATA Communications team would copy paste last year’s press release and gush that ‘this week, the centre of world aviation is in [insert AGM location here]’. That they could not be bothered to change the release said a lot; nearly as much as failing to note where the centre of world aviation is for the other 51 weeks of the year. Did they hit the copy and paste buttons this year? Who cares? The IATA AGM came; the IATA AGM went. Nothing happened. Literally.
The Aviation Strategy Summit – LPF, WTF?
Cyprus was the ancient world’s major supplier of copper – it is where we get the word ‘copper’. On the back of that, it has been a major trading nation since the Phoenicians. Ptolemy’s Egyptians were also there, the Greeks, the Romans, the Venetians, the Byzantines, the Ottomans, the British and now, the chatterati of European aviation. Nations can only take so much invasion. It is a lot to ask of a small nation at the Eastern end of the Mediterranean. The chatterati were there to talk strategy, but it did not take long for the Level Playing Field to rear its ugly head. If the airlines are to be believed, the only good use of AI – another agenda item – is to work out how to make European aviation less competitive, whilst talking non-stop about it being competitive.
The ACI AGM: Worth the Price of a Cup of Coffee?
This year, the annual aviation AGM marathon finally finished up with the ACI Europe AGM in Prague. Prague, the city of Kafka, but also Vaclav Havel. Interestingly, and channelling Havel, there was the hint of a quiet revolution in the air. One of the moderators even wore a velvet dinner jacket to the Gala dinner, held, appropriately, in Prague Castle, the home of the president of Czechia. Are the ACI trying to organise its own non-violent Velvet Revolution in the regulation of aviation in Europe? There were certainly straws in the wind that might suggest so.
Drone Freedom: Europe’s Path to Leadership
By Jacques Mason, independent aviation analyst
The United States has chosen its slogan: Drone Dominance. Europe should choose a different ambition: Drone Freedom. Freedom for entrepreneurs to create new services. Freedom for innovators to develop new technologies. Freedom for operators to scale across borders. Freedom for citizens, businesses, and public authorities to benefit from an entirely new generation of aerial services. Innovation flourishes in open markets.