The SESAR Joint Undertaking (SESAR JU) took centre stage at the Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2026, held from 18–21 May in Budapest, highlighting how Europe’s investment in air traffic management (ATM) research and innovation is delivering tangible results for a smarter, more resilient and sustainable transport system.

A strong European collaboration on display

Throughout the event, SESAR JU joined forces with the European Commission and fellow Joint Undertakings — EU-Rail, Clean Hydrogen and Clean Aviation — at a shared exhibition stand, demonstrating how coordinated EU action across transport modes is accelerating the transition towards a seamless, connected mobility system.

This joint presence sent a clear message: Europe’s future transport system will be built through collaboration — bridging air, rail and emerging mobility solutions to deliver greater efficiency, resilience and sustainability.

SESAR JU on stage

Across a packed programme of plenary, strategic and technical sessions, SESAR JU and its partners showcased how cutting-edge ATM research is already shaping the future of aviation — and its integration into the wider mobility ecosystem.

Key themes included:

• Digitalisation and artificial intelligence
• GNSS resilience and navigation
• Drones and new air mobility services
• Automation and Multimodal transport integration

SESAR JU experts contributed to high-level discussions throughout the week, addressing key strategic challenges such as:

• strengthening resilience in a changing risk landscape
• enabling sustainable and competitive aviation
• increased automation in multimodal mobility systems
• ensuring responsible deployment of artificial intelligence

The participation of Andreas Boschen in the plenary session on digitalisation further reinforced the central role of ATM in Europe’s broader transport transformation.

From policy to operations: immersive site visits

Complementing the conference programme, SESAR JU also organised high-level familiarisation visits for Magda Kopczyńska, Director General, and Eric von Breska, Director for Investment, Innovative & Sustainable Transport, offering a concrete, end-to-end view of how SESAR solutions are deployed in practice.

These visits exposed participants to the mechanics of end-to-end air traffic management— from airport operations to the cockpit and air traffic control environments – and highlighted how digitalisation, real-time data sharing and advanced airspace management are already improving performance across the aviation network.

By connecting policy discussions at TRA with operational realities on the ground, the visits underscored the value of SESAR as a delivery engine for Europe’s Digital European Sky. Read more

SESAR JU projects in the spotlight

Innovation was not only discussed—it was on display.

A strong portfolio of SESAR JU projects, including:

• EUREKA,
• Network TBO
• SIGN-AIR
• AWARE
• AISA
• PRIAM
• Travel Wise

engaged directly with participants through poster sessions, demos and technical exchanges, offering concrete insights into the solutions being developed across the SESAR pipeline.

These projects illustrated how SESAR is delivering across the full innovation cycle — from exploratory research to industrialisation and deployment — helping to modernise Europe’s airspace while enabling new mobility services.

Supporting the next generation of innovators

SESAR JU was proud to support the Airborne Category of the TRA Visions Young Researchers Awards—spotlighting the bold ideas shaping the future of aviation.

This year’s winners captured the ambition and diversity of Europe’s next generation of innovators:

• 🥇 First prize: Denis Andres Maigualema-Quimbita (Universitat Politècnica de València) for pioneering 5G-enabled UAV routes to support emergency response operations
• 🥈 Second prize: Konstantia Kontodimou (National Technical University of Athens) for advancing strategies to accelerate the uptake of sustainable aviation fuels under EU regulation
• 🥉 Third prize: Abdulali Baghiyev (TSI) for developing data-driven approaches to strengthen aircraft airworthiness in business aviation

From drone-enabled emergency response to sustainable fuels and data-driven safety, their work reflects the diversity of challenges—and solutions—across aviation, with clear relevance to operational needs.

Congratulations to all the winners — we look forward to seeing their careers develop in the years ahead.

Looking ahead

TRA 2026 showed how ATM innovation is becoming an integral part of Europe’s wider transport landscape.

We look forward to building on this momentum at the next TRA in Milan in 2028.