The Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility backs ENAIRE's international expansion at Airspace World

José Antonio Santano, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and Chairman of ENAIRE, today held a series of meetings at the Airspace World 2026 exhibition in Lisbon, the world's leading air navigation event, which has brought together more than 7,000 professionals and industry leaders since Monday 26 May.

Santano's attendance—alongside that of Benito Núñez, Secretary General for Air and Maritime Transport—was intended as a show of support for ENAIRE's international expansion at a time of profound transformation in the sector, driven by the digitalisation and globalisation of air navigation processes and services.

This morning, Santano attended the signing of a memorandum of collaboration between ENAIRE and SkyGrid, a Boeing subsidiary, to drive innovation in urban airspace (U-space). The agreement covers knowledge exchange and the joint technological development of international initiatives aimed at accelerating the growth of the U-space ecosystem and enabling future advanced drone-based air mobility operations.

The Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility also visited the INECO stand, where he was briefed on various international aviation projects, such as the Galileo Service Centre (GSC). He also visited the SENASA stand, where he was briefed on the development and progress of the national and international courses run in recent years at the air traffic controllers’ school.

The Secretary of State visited the stand of Spanish technology firm INDRA, accompanied by ENAIRE's Director General, Enrique Maurer, and members of his team. INDRA is a world-leading technology provider in the field of air traffic management systems.

EGS and U-space

Santano, together with the Secretary General for Air and Maritime Transport, used the event to reinforce ENAIRE’s global profile as part of its already wellestablished international activity. ENAIRE seized the opportunity presented by this major global air traffic management forum to unveil the internationalisation strategy of its subsidiary ENAIRE Global Services (EGS) to air navigation service providers, regulators, industry representatives and international operators.

EGS will operate in the non-regulated sector, offering operational air traffic management services, technology and consultancy services, and services for drones and new airspace users. Establishing ENAIRE as a global leader in air navigation services is one of the objectives of its 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, Flight Plan 2030.

At Airspace World in Lisbon, ENAIRE also presented the latest advances in its SACTA-iTEC air traffic control system. The new version is aligned with several strategic objectives of the new European Master Plan, supporting virtual centre models and marking the evolution towards a service-based architecture, with particular emphasis on integration of the ATM Data Service Provider (ADSP) concept and a strong focus on automation and digitalisation.

ENAIRE also demonstrated its leadership in European drone projects (Uspace), aeronautical information and data digitalisation initiatives, and applications for real-time monitoring of the ENAIRE network.