Fuerteventura as a Living Test Environment: Why Islands Matter in the Future Airspace Economy
- Sergio David Díaz Martínez
Fuerteventura is more than a host location. It represents the type of geography where new aerial operations can be tested, refined and demonstrated in a meaningful way. This session will explore why islands and remote environments are emerging as important proving grounds for future airspace concepts, and why Fuerteventura is particularly well positioned to play that role.
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From Ground to Stratosphere: Integrating Drones, HAPS and Future Aerospace Operations
- Wajahat Beg Marta García Gutiérrez Alvaro López
The future aerial ecosystem will not stop at low-altitude drone operations. It will increasingly include high-altitude platform systems, stratospheric operations and new forms of aerospace activity sharing the same broader environment. This panel will examine what it takes to integrate these layers safely and effectively, and why the challenge is not only technological, but also operational, regulatory and strategic.
Dual-Use Aerial Systems from User Perspective: Civil, Security and Defence Convergence
- Dan Carroll Jenn Player
The boundaries between civil, security and defence applications are increasingly blurred. Technologies, operational concepts and airspace integration challenges are often shared across use cases, even if missions differ. This panel will explore how dual-use aerial systems are shaping the evolution of the sector, and how capabilities developed for one domain can accelerate progress in others. The discussion will focus on integration into airspace, operational requirements, resilience, and the role of public authorities in enabling safe and effective use across different contexts.
Designing Operations That Authorities Approve: From Concept of Operations to Real Flights
- Roberto Gándara Ossel Simon Ritterband Kyle Snyder Benjamin van der Hilst Lorenzo Murzilli
One of the biggest gaps between ambition and reality lies in the translation from concept to approved operation. This panel will explore how operators, authorities and infrastructure stakeholders move from high-level concepts to detailed, approvable operations. It will focus on ConOps development, operational procedures, airspace design, risk assessment and the practical challenges of turning a mission into something that can be safely authorised and repeatedly executed.
Social Licence to Operate: Trust, Visibility and Community Acceptance in Real Environments
- Veronica Mariti Sesoko Carl Garvie
Public acceptance is not a soft issue at the margins of the sector. It is a core condition for deployment. This panel will explore how trust is built, how communities evaluate the value of new operations, and why visibility, transparency and usefulness matter as much as safety and performance. The discussion will focus on how operators, authorities and local stakeholders can work together to build lasting legitimacy.
Who Pays for Scale? Procurement, Business Models and Investable Aerial Infrastructure
- Sorin Moisa Etienne Louvet Kirill Shilov
As the market becomes more selective, the question of who funds deployment becomes increasingly important. This panel will examine the commercial side of scale, from procurement models and public-sector demand to private investment and infrastructure financing. Speakers will discuss what makes projects credible, what buyers are really looking for, and how the sector can move from experimentation to sustainable market structures.
Closing Panel: The Next 12 Months: Where Aerial Ecosystems Will Scale First, and Why
Not all markets will move at the same pace. This closing panel will identify the environments, use cases and ecosystem models most likely to scale over the next 12 months. It will bring together the key insights of the conference to assess where momentum is strongest and what needs to happen next for the sector to progress.
