Addressing airborne conflict in a changing airspace

By Maxime Wauters, Senior Manager Safety & Regulatory Affairs EBAA 

Over recent years, the evolution of European and global airspace has not been defined by one single, visible change. Rather, it has been characterised by a gradual increase in complexity. Traffic patterns are evolving, operational constraints are growing, and expectations around efficiency, capacity and sustainability are becoming more demanding. At the same time, new types of operations are entering the system, requiring all actors to operate within an environment that must remain safe, predictable and manageable.

From the cockpit, this evolution is often experienced not as a major disruption, but as a sequence of incremental operational adjustments. A clearance may be issued later than expected. A trajectory may change at short notice. A situation may feel slightly more compressed than anticipated. Each of these moments can usually be managed safely and professionally. Crews adapt, as they are trained to do. However, when such situations occur repeatedly across different operations and environments, they begin to reveal patterns that merit closer attention. 

It is within this context that GAPPAC was developed

GAPPAC, the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Airborne Conflict, is an initiative led by the Flight Safety Foundation. It builds on earlier global safety initiatives such as GAPPRE and GAPPRI, which focused respectively on runway excursions and runway incursions. These initiatives were based on a clear principle: when a known safety risk persists, meaningful progress requires coordinated action across the entire aviation system, rather than isolated interventions by individual actors.

GAPPAC applies this same approach to airborne conflict. It brings together stakeholders from across the aviation community to develop a better understanding of how airborne conflict risks are evolving in today’s increasingly complex airspace environment.

The objective is not to respond only to individual events, but to examine the broader system in which they occur. Airborne conflict is rarely the result of a single failure. More often, it emerges from the interaction of multiple factors, including traffic density, airspace design, communication, workload, operational expectations and the coordination between crews and controllers. When these elements combine in certain ways, they may not necessarily create an unsafe situation, but they can reduce margins and increase operational complexity.

Understanding these dynamics requires more than data alone. It requires operational experience

This is why the contribution of operators, pilots and safety professionals is essential. Situations that “almost happened”, moments that required an unexpected adjustment, or scenarios that felt different from normal operational expectations can provide valuable insight into how the system is evolving. These experiences are not always fully captured in formal reporting systems, yet they often contain important signals that can help identify emerging risks.

Through GAPPAC, the aviation sector is encouraged to bring these insights together and move from individual observations towards a shared understanding. This is not about assigning responsibility or highlighting shortcomings. It is about recognising that the operating environment is changing, and that maintaining safety in such an environment requires continuous adaptation.

Within this framework, EBAA plays an important connecting role

Business aviation operates across a wide range of environments, often with a higher degree of variability and less predictability than other segments of aviation. This gives EBAA members a valuable perspective on how airspace is used and experienced in daily operations. Capturing that perspective and feeding it into the broader GAPPAC process is a key part of EBAA’s contribution.

EBAA works closely with its members to understand their operational experience, identify recurring themes and translate these into structured input that can be shared with the Flight Safety Foundation and other stakeholders involved in the initiative. This ensures that the voice of business aviation is represented in a global safety discussion involving regulators, air navigation service providers and other industry actors.

The value of this approach lies in collaboration. No single organisation can address airborne conflict risks on its own. The solutions depend on how different parts of the aviation system interact with one another. Initiatives such as GAPPAC are therefore essential, as they create a framework for open exchange and collective identification of practical improvements.

Member engagement is central to this process

Every operational insight and every experience shared contributes to a more accurate understanding of the challenges facing the sector. What may appear to be a minor issue in isolation can become more significant when viewed in a wider operational context. This is how patterns are identified, and how meaningful safety action can be developed.

At EBAA, our objective is to ensure that these insights do not remain isolated, but are actively used to support safety at system level. By working with members and contributing to initiatives such as GAPPAC, EBAA aims to ensure that the evolution of airspace remains aligned with operational reality.

Ultimately, this is what safety requires: not only responding to events after they occur, but understanding what is changing and adapting before small signals develop into larger risks.