AI, Weather and the New Low-Level Economy: What’s Next for Air Traffic Management?
Insights from an FCCS panel moderated by Heron AirBridge COO Fabrice Ancey with experts from Thales, ICAI, and ATMRI.
Singapore, 27 November 2025 – As global air traffic surpasses pre-pandemic levels and drones, eVTOLs, and new aerial services are set to crowd low-level airspace, the pressure on air traffic systems has never been higher. How can AI and automation help keep operations safe, predictable, and efficient without losing the human expertise at the heart of Air Traffic Management (ATM)?
These questions were at the center of a recent panel in Singapore on “Advancing Air Traffic Management through AI and Automation”, moderated by Heron AirBridge COO Fabrice Ancey and featuring experts from Thales, ICAI, and ATMRI, in a session hosted by the French Chamber of Commerce Singapore (FCCS).
The conversation touched on five key themes: the rapid rebound of aviation, climate-driven weather disruption, integration of the low-level economy, the role of AI and automation, and the enduring importance of human judgement.
“We’re seeing air traffic recovery, the rise of low-level operations and AI innovation all happening at once,” said Fabrice Ancey, COO of Heron AirBridge. “The real question is how do we bring these forces together in a way that strengthens safety and trust.”
ATM: An Industry Rebounding and Rapidly Evolving
The panel noted that global aviation traffic in 2024 has surpassed 2019 levels, underlining the sector’s resilience after the pandemic. This rebound, however, brings new pressure on Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs).
Airlines, airports, and passengers are demanding greater on-time performance, while ANSPs must manage an increasingly constrained airspace and infrastructure, all without compromising the sector’s uncompromising safety standards. This environment is driving demand for smarter tools, richer data, and more collaborative decision-making across the aviation ecosystem.
Climate Change: Weather Represents a Major Bottleneck
Weather has always affected aviation, but panelists agreed that climate change is turning weather into one of the most disruptive forces in modern air traffic operations. It now represents a key bottleneck in managing airspace efficiently.
Research centres such as ICAI, ATMRI, and AirLab are accelerating work on advanced tools, including:
- Convective Weather Impact Forecast (CWIF) – to better anticipate enroute and approach disruptions.
- FLASH – to analyse and predict the operational impact of lightning on air traffic.
Both tools aim to enhance network predictability and give controllers better situational foresight, helping them manage complex, dynamic traffic scenarios with greater confidence.
Integrating the Low-Level Economy: A New Strategic Challenge
The panel also discussed the rapid emergence of the low-level economy, where drones, eVTOLs, and new aerial services will share airspace with traditional commercial aviation.
This shift will require:
- Safe and scalable integration between UTM and ATM systems
- Shared situational awareness between manned and unmanned operations
- Coordinated decision-making across stakeholders
- Harmonised regulatory frameworks to enable cross-domain operations
As low-level operations increase in volume and complexity, the role of digital UTM platforms will become central to ensuring safe, efficient, and predictable traffic flows.
AI & Automation: Powerful Enablers, Not Replacements
As traffic grows, weather complexity intensifies, and new entrants join the airspace, the panel emphasized that AI and automation can play a critical role in supporting, not replacing, human controllers.
Emerging concepts such as Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO) and Flight & Flow Information for a Collaborative Environment (FF-ICE) will help create more automated, flexible, and resilient flows of aircraft without overwhelming air traffic controllers (ATCOs).
Because of the innovative nature and high dynamism of unmanned air traffic, panelists noted that AI is likely to progress faster in UTM than in traditional ATM. Low-level airspace operations generate higher traffic volumes, more dynamic trajectories, and shorter decision cycles making them an ideal environment for AI-enabled automation.
As UTM systems mature, AI is expected to play a key role in:
- Predicting and deconflicting dense low-altitude traffic
- Coordinating strategic intent-sharing between drones and manned aviation
- Supporting the seamless integration of UTM traffic into ATM operations as the low-level economy expands
At the same time, the panel stressed that AI in ATM must be approached with prudence. Today, most ATM-related AI systems:
- Are not generative, but rely on supervised learning and tightly bounded decision spaces
- Operate in a regulatory environment that is still evolving
The panel referenced EASA’s Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) 2025-07 as a significant step towards establishing trustworthiness frameworks for AI in aviation.
Fully commercialized systems with advanced AI remain limited, with some of the more mature applications seen in certain Arrival/Departure Manager (AMAN/DMAN) sequencing systems.
Humans Remain at the Center
A clear theme emerged throughout the session: technology alone cannot solve ATM’s challenges.
Human expertise, resilience, and adaptability remain irreplaceable. Panelists observed that humans often operate at the “edge of chaos”, constantly balancing complexity, adaptability, and risk in ways that machines cannot yet replicate.
“AI and automation can extend human capabilities, but they must never erode trust,” added Ancey. “The future of air traffic management must be built on transparent systems that support – rather than second-guess – the professionals who keep our skies safe every day.”
Collaboration Will Shape the Future
The discussion concluded with a strong call for cross-industry collaboration. The future of ATM will depend on how effectively the ecosystem can combine machine precision with human judgment, guided by:
- Trust and transparency
- Robust safety and regulatory oversight
- Close collaboration between researchers, operators, manufacturers, and regulators
Heron AirBridge extends its gratitude to Mr Philip Lim (Chief Engineer at ICAI), Associate Professor Sameer Alam (Director of ATMRI), and Mr François Ballan (CPO at Thales Airlab) for their invaluable contributions and for an enriching discussion and to Mr Jeremy Koch at the FCCS for organizing this event.
“The road ahead for AI in ATM is tremendously exciting,” Ancey concluded. “By working together, we can ensure it is shaped responsibly, thoughtfully, and in an innovation-driven manner.”
Heron AirBridge is a Singapore-based aviation technology company building the digital infrastructure for safe, scalable drone operations. Its suite includes:
- AirBridge UTM for flight approvals, strategic deconfliction, airspace coordination, and authority tooling
- AirBridge FLEET for asset management, mission planning, real-time monitoring, and analytics
- AirBeep Remote ID (B-RID / N-RID) modules for global, standards-compliant identification and tracking
Together, these products connect drones, data, and decisions—enabling trusted operations for enterprises and authorities. Learn more at heron-airbridge.com.
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