Riga Hosts Borealis Alliance as Board Plans Strategic Development for 2026

07-11-2025

Released: 7th November 2025

Riga Hosts Borealis Alliance as Board Plans Strategic Development for 2026 

The Borealis Alliance Board met on 28 October 2025 in Riga to review ongoing initiatives and prepare for a strategic workshop to be held in Vilnius next spring, where the Board will define a renewed long-term direction for the Alliance.

The Board also approved key planning documents for 2026, including the Budget and Communications Plan, and reviewed financial performance updates. 

The Alliance management team presented a status update on major project activities.

CONCERTO, where Borealis Alliance is part of a consortium in the SESARJU project, is developing a concept of operations for contrail avoidance. The consortium will finish the technical part this year, and the final reporting to SJU will be early next year.

The Borealis FRA implementation, which has been the main activity of the Alliance since 2015, is almost complete. That included closing the related CINEA grant agreement ”SESAR Deployment Programme implementation 2015 – Cluster 2”. Preparing final FRA implementation steps for NATS, and potential future integration of Oro Navigacija, the newest Alliance member.

With these two projects soon to be concluded, the Alliance has been working on new ideas for collaboration and future strategic programmes. This work has led to the establishment of a new project, the Flexible and Scalable Ratings and Endorsements. The meeting highlighted the importance of supporting the next generation of air traffic controllers and enhancing the overall efficiency of European air traffic management. Board members and accountable representatives exchanged views on how to attract young professionals to the air traffic control (ATC) profession and how training methods could be further harmonised across the Alliance. Although operational environments differ among ANSPs, members agreed on the need to gather comparative data on training duration and success rates to identify opportunities for improvement.

Borealis Alliance Board Chairman, Thorsten Elkjær of Naviair, emphasised the importance of embracing new opportunities in air traffic management.

Looking ahead, and based on the change in strategy, the Board agreed to transform the next Borealis meeting, scheduled to take place in Vilnius in March 2026, into a strategic workshop. The goal will be to refresh the Alliance's long-term vision and define new objectives to ensure continued leadership in European ATM cooperation.

Mr Elkjær also thanked Davids Taurins, Chairman of the Board of the State Joint Stock Company Latvijas gaisa satiksme (LGS), for hosting the meeting in Riga and ensuring its success.

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About the Borealis Alliance

The Borealis Alliance unites the Air Navigation Service Providers of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Together, they manage around 3.8 million flights per year across 12.5 million km² of North European airspace — forming Europe's main transatlantic gateway.

The Alliance focuses on operational and environmental improvements, particularly through the implementation of Free Route Airspace, enabling airlines to optimise flight paths, improve predictability, and reduce emissions. In the current geopolitical environment, enhanced cooperation — particularly in cross-border operations and addressing military airspace needs — remains central to the Alliance's mission.