Thales and Aireon partner to enhance airspace management and collaboration across Asia-Pacific region

Asia-Pacific aviation market is projected to grow by up to 72% by 2030. Thales and Aireon are partnering to identify, evaluate and develop operational concepts that will help Air Navigation Service Providers, airlines and airports across the APAC region improve traffic flow across the. airspace. This collaboration aims to help the industry prepare for rapid traffic growth and address the increasing congestion across some of the world’s busiest and most complex airspaces.

Thales is providing free access to its cloud-based TopSky-Flow platform, an advanced solution designed to help ANSPs manage traffic flow across their airspace and airports. The tool is powered by the AireonFLOW space-based ADS-B surveillance product. This unique trial program will allow ANSPs to safely explore “what-if” operational scenarios, engage in collaborative discussions around real-world challenges, and strengthen coordination between ANSPs and airlines to optimise regional traffic flow.

The initiative builds on Thales’ “Better Skies for Asia” program, launched in 2024 in response to the CANSO Asia Pacific ATM Modernisation white paper, which provides direction and keys to APAC ANSPs in accelerating the modernisation of Air Traffic Management systems across the region.

Youzec Kurp, Vice President, Airspace Mobility Solutions, Thales commented: "Airspace congestion is one of the most significant challenges faced by the aviation industry, particularly in fast-growing regions like Asia-Pacific. With 49 separate FIRs and no established multilateral collaboration framework beyond ICAO guidelines, real-time data sharing and coordinated traffic flow management remain difficult. By giving ANSPs the opportunity to experiment with new flow-management concepts in a safe, collaborative environment, we aim to strengthen inter-ANSP cooperation and help the region prepare for sustained, long-term growth.” 

Peter Cabooter, Aireon Executive Vice President of Customer Affairs stated: “AireonFLOW is the market leading ATFM data stream for ANSPs, providing valuable insight into traffic into their airspaces. Our customers are reporting 20 percent better planning precision using the Aireon data. Aireon’s gold-standard data combined with the innovative Thales platform has the potential to bring unprecedented operational efficiency to the Asia-Pacific region.”