The word of the director

So here is a new year beginning! Like every year, it will bring opportunities for new developments, new friendships and new adventures!

But let’s go back to 2025 for a moment. It was a contrasting year, with a difficult start due to obstacles encountered in the project to support the transition to radar control in Haiti and the security situation in that country. Nevertheless, we have been able to overcome these difficulties, diversify our activities and move forward. Our study on the development and operationalization of RSOOs (Regional Safety Oversight Organizations) in the AFI region was appreciated and concluded with a workshop bringing together all African countries in Kampala, at the end of April 2025. We continued our activities in Luxembourg as well as the development of DIADEME, which is now able to offer web-based simulation of procedural control and degraded situations, and we have made some progress in our environmental analysis capabilities.

In a turbulent global context, the Paris Air Show was very focused on defense but was also a good show for us, with great meetings and increased cooperation with the DGAC/MCI team. The ICAO Assembly, although marked by global tensions, was also a success, with 193 countries represented and many breakthroughs. For FRACS, this triennial event is a way to meet the entire world of aviation, to touch on the essential issues and to forge many relationships. This was again the case at the 2025 Assembly.

Finally, and this should be noted, 2025 marks the return of global air traffic to pre-pandemic levels. We have continued to observe it and to developed new analytical capabilities.

So, what does 2026 hold for us?

We will naturally continue to build on our momentum and develop our offer, by continuing to focus on innovative services and products that can meet the challenges of operators and civil aviation authorities around the world.

We concluded the year 2025 with the signing of a cooperation agreement with ASECNA and a workshop with all its components, I have no doubt that 2026 will make it possible to materialize and initiate many projects with ASECNA. We also hope to engage in strong cooperation with Mauritius on several axes, after winning, in partnership with Hibyrd, the project to support the implementation of the APOC (Airport Operation Centre) in La Reunion.

2026 should also be synonymous with new developments in our inspection and calibration capabilities using drones. We are continuing our investigations in this area.

We naturally continue to invest alongside the Civil Aviation Safety Oversight Authorities with METEOR. The year 2025 saw the advent of the new version of ASERT (Aviation Safety Event Reporting Tool) and we hope in 2026 to develop the many possibilities, in particular in support of safety management processes.

In the field of Air Transport, we continue to move forward and increase the coverage of our services.

Finally, 2026 should allow us to conclude an ambitious project in Pakistan, in partnership with CGX Aero, on the implementation of RNP-AR procedures at isolated airports on the borders of the Himalayas.

Thus, 2026 is a challenging year ahead of us, and we are approaching it with the enthusiasm and energy that characterize our small team and experts. Our team has evolved a lot in 2025 due to the aspiration of some colleagues towards major companies in the French aeronautical industry, and new faces will make up the 2026 team, but still with the same dynamic and, as always, we hope to carry our colours, our energy and the know-how of French civil aviation to new horizons.

In conclusion, I would like to thank all those who have been by our side this year, our customers who have placed their trust in us, the entire FRACS team, the experts in the projects, our partners, the services of the DGAC and the ENAC who support us on a daily basis and make a great contribution, as well as the students we have continued to welcome.

The entire France Aviation Civile Services team joins me in wishing you and all yours an excellent year 2026, in good health and with many sources of satisfaction, both personally and professionally. In any case, we hope to cross your path for a moment of warm and constructive cooperation.