Kraków Aviation Summit: building a safe, clean and competitive future for European aviation

On 29-30 May 2025, Kraków became the aviation capital of Europe as the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU hosted the Kraków Aviation Summit under the theme "Towards safe, clean and competitive European aviation."

Bringing together high-level representatives from the European Commission, EASA, Eurocontrol, national civil aviation authorities, industry, and research institutions, the two-day event offered a platform to define a common vision for aviation in the face of climate, technological and geopolitical challenges.

Andreas Boschen, Executive Director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking, spoke in the opening panel on how to ensure efficient, competitive and sustainable aviation, alongside Magdalena Jaworska-Maćkowiak CEO of PANSA, CEO of Ryanair, and Charles Pace, Director General for Civil Aviation at Transport Malta.

Boschen highlighted how the European ATM Master Plan, adopted earlier this year, promotes a new ATM service delivery model, aiming to enable more flexible, data-driven and competitive service provision across borders. He underlined the potential of open digital architectures and cloud-based solutions to speed up innovation, support automation, and reduce fragmentation, thereby strengthening Europe's position in the global aviation market.

He also drew attention to concrete SESAR solutions already available that improve the resilience of Europe's network, noting that investment planning must take into account network-wide impact, not just local benefits-especially in times of crisis. Improved data sharing, better forecasting tools, and long-term infrastructure planning are among the actions needed to reinforce the system's adaptability and performance, including addressing the climate challenge.

The summit also addressed security, passenger rights, and the future reconstruction of Ukraine's aviation sector. As Europe moves forward, the collaborative work of industry, institutions and research-as reflected in the ATM Master Plan-will be essential to delivering on the shared goal of safe, clean, and competitive aviation.

More about the summit