Programme of events

Securing the skies: cybersecurity and AI in aviation

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Keynote address by Jesper Rungholm, President, ERA.

Airline leadership panel: spotlight on our sector

This year’s airline leadership panel will shine a spotlight on our sector, discussing key topics affecting the industry including cost uncertainties, geopolitical tensions, skills shortages, supply chain issues, sustainability developments, regional connectivity and new technology to name but a few. This session will be moderated by Andrew Kelly, Director, Corporate Affairs, ASL Airlines Ireland and we look forward to hearing a comprehensive and productive dialogue from Jóhanna á Bergi, CEO, Atlantic Airways; David Curmi, Executive Chairman, KM Malta Airlines,​ Luke Farajallah, CEO, Loganair; Gilles Feith, CEO, Luxair; and Mikael Wångdahl, VP Airline Operations, SAS Group, as they discuss these critical topics that are key to understanding our industry’s current landscape and future direction.

Senior leadership panel: positive progress versus the challenges to deliver our sustainability targets by 2030 and 2050

Our second session will feature a senior leadership panel* focusing on our decarbonisation efforts to date, highlighting the milestones achieved and outlining the path ahead. Key topics for debate will include the implementation and development of Sustainable Aviation Fuels, innovative and emerging technologies, partnerships and collaborations, technical and operational challenges, economic and investment barriers and navigating the complex regulatory landscape.

This session will be moderated by Maarten Koopmans, Managing Director, KLM Cityhopper and will include contributions from Marylin Bastin, Acting Director European Green Sky, EUROCONTROL; Meiltje de Groot, CEO, Groningen Airport Eelde and Val Miftakhov, Founder and CEO, ZeroAvia. Additional panellists to be announced.

The sky is no limit for this year’s inspirational speaker, Nicola Winter – pilot, reserve astronaut and aerospace engineer. Winter’s journey began in the German Armed Forces in 2004, where she was a Tornado pilot and flight instructor, before retraining to become one of only three women in the German Air Force to fly the Eurofighter. By the time she left the German Armed Forces as a Major she had trained young pilots in the USA for several years.

After her time in the German Armed Forces, Winter advised large companies for McKinsey & Co. and experienced several emergencies as a paramedic. Via the aviation industry, she then moved into aerospace project management.

In 2017, Winter was a finalist in the ‘The Astronaut’ initiative, beating more than 22,500 other applicants in the ESA selection process and is now part of the astronaut reserve, where she could become the first German woman in space. Today, Winter is a renowned speaker, a consultant for crisis teams and companies, active in space research and a lecturer in emergency and crisis management. She is pursuing a PhD in space science and training to become a rescue helicopter pilot. Her credo is “with courage, empathy, discipline, passion and a bit of luck we can make it anywhere – even to the moon.”

Association address - Montserrat Barriga, Director General, ERA

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