ICAO backs a faster global rollout of air traffic flow management

26 October 2026

UN News reported on 25 October 2026 that governments and industry have backed a faster global rollout of air traffic flow management after five days of talks in Montreal convened by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Air traffic flow management lets airlines, airports, controllers and weather services share information and decide together, so that airports which cannot take more aircraft coordinate with other airports to hold back departures instead of leaving planes circling. New international rules on flow management are due in November 2030, with regional workshops planned for 2027. EUROCONTROL estimated that air traffic management delays in Europe cost an estimated $2.3 billion or more in 2025, and a EUROCONTROL programme avoided around 3.1 million minutes of delay between May and August 2026, saving an estimated $448 million. Collaborative trials in the Americas supported by ICAO saved more than 265,000 minutes of flying time in 2026 and over $38.9 million, with about 13,330 tonnes of fuel saved and 42,160 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions avoided. ICAO says airlines carried nearly five billion passengers on 38 million flights in 2025, and projects air travel could reach 12.4 billion passengers by 2050.