The COOPANS Alliance has marked a significant milestone, celebrating 20 years of cooperation and innovation in European air traffic management (ATM). Announced on 8th June 2026, the anniversary reflects two decades of close collaboration between air navigation service providers (ANSPs) across Europe and highlights the important role Ireland continues to play in shaping the future of ATM.
Since its foundation in the mid-2000s, COOPANS has grown into one of Europe’s most successful examples of cross-border aviation collaboration. The alliance brings together ANSPs from Ireland, Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Portugal and Sweden, working alongside industry partner Thales to develop and operate a shared air traffic management system.
The concept is simple but powerful: by pooling resources, harmonising procedures and deploying a common technology platform, the partners can deliver safer, more efficient and more cost-effective air traffic services than any one state could alone. Over two decades, this approach has proven highly effective. COOPANS has enabled its members to implement advanced ATM capabilities, increase capacity, and respond more effectively to rising traffic demands across European airspace.
COOPANS Alliance Board Chair Mario Kunovec Varga emphasised that the partnership itself, not just the technology, is the alliance’s greatest strength: “Our greatest strength is not the technology we have built, but the partnership and collaboration that define the way we work together… We truly live our motto: real cooperation, real results.”
Ireland has been a key player in COOPANS from the very beginning. The Irish Aviation Authority ANSP (now AirNav Ireland), has been instrumental in both the development and operational deployment of the COOPANS system. Notably, Shannon became the first operational COOPANS centre in 2011, placing Ireland at the forefront of this collaborative ATM model. Today, AirNav Ireland continues to play a critical role within the alliance. Managing approximately 451,000 square kilometres of controlled airspace and handling a large proportion of North Atlantic traffic, Ireland sits at one of the busiest and most strategically important gateways between Europe and North America. This makes Irish participation in COOPANS especially significant, not just for national operations, but for the efficiency of transatlantic aviation as a whole.
As aviation continues to recover and grow, COOPANS is already focused on the next phase of ATM modernisation. This includes initiatives such as increased automation, system virtualisation, and alignment with Europe’s “Digital Sky” vision under the Single European Sky framework. Projects like EXODUS, aimed at developing a “virtual centre” concept across member states, demonstrate how the alliance continues to push technological and operational boundaries. With its strong track record and collaborative structure, COOPANS is well positioned to lead the evolution of European ATM into a more integrated, digital and resilient system.
