11th ECAC/EU Dialogue Programme

Ingrid Cherfils, President of ECAC

Steffen Bilger, Parliamentary State Secretary, German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

Henrik Hololei, Director General, DG MOVE, European Commission

Panellists will address how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the sector and caused an unprecedented crisis in aviation. The session will focus on economic and financial aspects, provide an overview of the facts and figures to quantify the impact of the pandemic and identify the bottlenecks expected for the medium- and long-term.

Panellists will also discuss regulatory aspects and share best practices on relief measures, mitigation measures and contingency planning as well as regional and global coordination and cooperation.

Eamonn Brennan, Director General, EUROCONTROL - Setting the scene presentation and moderator

Panel debate with:

Filip Cornelis, Director for Aviation, DG MOVE, European Commission

Sebastian Mikosz, Senior Vice President Member & External Relations, IATA

Tanja Grobotek, Director Europe Affairs, CANSO

Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE

Alessio Quaranta, Director General of Civil Aviation, ENAC, Italy, and ECAC Focal Point for Economic matters

A session to continue discussing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, with a focus on the public perception of aviation. Experts will discuss whether the crisis has changed the perception of the sector and whether there has been a shift in thinking in society towards air travel, especially regarding health risks.

Has the pandemic reinforced a good image of aviation as an essential service (e.g. cargo or for free travel) or has it created a negative image with aviation as a vector of communicable diseases in an over-connected globalised world? What are the best ways to communicate the balance between health safety, environmental sustainability and the economic benefits of aviation?

Nick Andrews, Senior Vice President and Senior Partner, FleishmanHillard Fishburn - Moderator

Panel debate with:

Luc Tytgat, Director, Strategy and Safety Management, EASA

Montserrat Barriga, Director General, European Regions Airline Association (ERA)

Charles Pace, Director for Civil Aviation, Transport Malta

Jon Horne, President, European Cockpit Association (ECA)

Juliana Ghasemipour-Yazdi, Process Provider, Business Mediator, Vienna Airport Dialogue Forum Association

Alexis von Hoensbroech, CEO, Austrian Airlines

An informative session about promising technologies and innovations towards decarbonisation, providing an overview of the industry commitments and environmental initiatives. Panellists will discuss whether the COVID-19 crisis has had or may have a negative or positive impact on progress made on environmental matters in the aviation sector and the consequences for environmental initiatives, including CORSIA.

Discussions will also focus on how public perceptions and expectations for sustainable air travel can be managed realistically.

Andrew Charlton, Managing Director, Aviation Advocacy - Moderator

Panel debate with:

Michael Gill, Executive Director, Air Transport Action Group (ATAG)

William Todts, Executive Director, Transport & Environment

Nils Aldag, Chief Commercial Officer, Sunfire

Rolf Henke, Representative Aviation of the Executive Board of the German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Elisabeth Landrichter, Director General for Civil Aviation, Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Austria

A session to take stock of the status of implementation of the Single European Sky (SES), ATM modernisation and to discuss the associated challenges, especially how much the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted progress. Panellists will discuss where we stand on the implementation of SES, and the outcomes of the initiatives taken by the European Commission and under the German Presidency throughout the year.

Andrew Charlton, Managing Director, Aviation Advocacy - Moderator

Panel debate with:

Christine Berg, Head of Unit, Single European Sky, DG MOVE, European Commission

Michiel van Dorst, CEO, Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL)

Thomas Reynaert, Managing Director, Airlines for Europe (A4E)

Johann Friedrich Colsman, Director General for Civil Aviation, Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Structure, Germany

High-level participants will summarise the Dialogue and bring together the discussion of previous sessions to consider the new normal in the sector. They will formulate the key takeaways for the future of aviation, including short- and long-term recommendations, and how it can be reconnected and rediscovered.

Ingrid Cherfils, President of ECAC

Filip Cornelis, Director for Aviation, DG MOVE, European Commission

Johann Friedrich Colsman, Director General for Civil Aviation, Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Structure, Germany