Multiple active conflicts are squeezing flight corridors and multiplying drone threats to civil aviation, Europe’s top aviation safety regulator has warned, as the month-old Iran war adds to disruptions already caused by the wars in Ukraine and between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Florian Guillermet, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), told Reuters that forcing airlines into ever-narrower corridors — notably over Azerbaijan and central Asia — was generating measurable safety risks.
“It’s clear that concentrating traffic on certain routes, the availability of the airspace for air traffic control, the fact that traffic can use routes which are not so usual, can generate safety risks,” Guillermet said.
The comments are the first from Europe’s aviation regulator since the Middle East war erupted at the end of February. On Friday, EASA renewed its advisory to avoid airspace over Iran, Israel and parts of the Gulf until 10 April.
Guillermet, who previously ran France’s air traffic control system, said clearing the skies remained the most effective response when risk levels rose — even if it meant disruption for passengers.
“We in aviation have the means to mitigate risk. One of those means is to clear the skies,” he said in an interview at the agency’s Cologne headquarters.
Drone threat prompts new guidance
Beyond congested corridors, EASA is drafting clearer rules on what powers authorities may use to counter rogue drones targeting civil airports — incidents that security experts increasingly link to hybrid warfare tactics.
Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, drone disruptions have hit airports from Stockholm to Munich, suspected though not confirmed to be connected to the conflict. Guillermet said the agency was now examining technical requirements for counter-drone devices used near airports.
“We are facing a very different landscape today,” he said. “The situation we face right now is more kind of hybrid warfare.”
The agency, which brings together 31 European countries, is also preparing a broader overhaul of its aviation strategy — addressing threats ranging from GPS interference and drone incursions to operational hazards such as unstable approaches and runway incidents.
(Reuters)