As we head into 2026 - here is a quick review of some things that happened in the world of EASA in 2025.
January – Keeping Risk Awareness Current
Staying ahead of an evolving risk landscape
2025 opened with the continuing reminder that safety isn’t only technical or procedural, but it is also about situational awareness, staying up to date with external threats, and ensuring the information reaches operational decision-makers in a timely way. Twice in January we updated conflict zone advisories.
We also published articles on Icing in Flight and the Lifecycle of an Occurrence Report.
On the GA side we also published a Sunny Swift cartoon on avoiding mid-air collisions by using ADS-L. The 3-yearly European Aviation Environmental Report was published.
February – Safety as a Shared System
Building safety through global collaboration
A recurring message in EASA safety work is that outcomes are shaped by interfaces: between countries, regulators, operators, aerodromes, ANSPs, manufacturers, and training or maintenance organisations.
February saw several international cooperation agreements being signed, including between EASA and Brazil’s ANAC, highlighting the role of global collaboration in maintaining and elevating aviation safety standards worldwide.
March – Emerging Safety Issues and New Domains
Turning frameworks into operational behaviours
From the Drones & Air Mobility domain, EASA stepped up work on regulatory frameworks for Innovative Air Mobility and drone airspace integration, reflecting that as aviation evolves, so too must our approaches to safety and rules. The EASA IAM Hub provides practical support to cities and organisations on navigating the rules for this developing domain.
On the GA side, we launched a campaign on VFR into IMC. In ATM, issued the first approval for ATM/ANS Design or Production Organisation. Also in a major step forward for the Ground Handling Domain, the new rules were published are lots of hard work and collaboration.
April – Reaching out to the GA Community
There's nothing better than being there in person
April saw staff from across EASA join the GA Community at the AERO show in Friedrichshafen where we launched new initiatives to prevent mid-air collisions with the ADS-L Coalition and the ¡Conspicuity Declaration.
We launched our new Wendell's Quest series of videos with Elixir Aircraft and also 10 Steps for the new flying season.
May – Passenger & Cabin Safety, Plus Lithium Battery Risk Awareness
Summer safety campaign = practical safety conversations
EASA’s Summer Safety Campaign saw us take safety on the road (or rather to the skies). We hosted a Cabin Safety event with CAA Norway and CAE in Oslo, a discussion on leadership challenges with the Irish Authority, Aer Lingus, Dublin Airport, Emerald and Ryanair, conversations about staff challenges, joined the Business Aviation Community at EBACE in Geneva and hosted a PNT Resiliance Workshop in Cologne.
Lithium battery safety received a major push through EASA’s Safety Information Bulletin SIB 2025-03, alongside EASA recommendations and public-facing messaging on managing passenger-carried lithium batteries (especially power banks and e-cigarettes).
June – Collaboration in action
Working together on top safety issues
Following our PNT Resilience Workshop, EASA and IATA published a comprehensive plan to mitigate the risks stemming from global navigation satellite system (GNSS) interference.
With the new Ground Handling Regulation now published, we hosted the first implementation webinar with different stakeholders joining - demonstrating the power of working together.
We also published the summer edition of our collaborative Conversation Aviation safety magazine.
July — New Operational Frontiers (IAM / VTOL) Develop Further
Innovation increases the need for clarity, trust and harmonisation
July had a “future operations” thread with EASA stepping up its regulatory framework for Innovative Air Mobility, publishing new AMC/GM to support safe and harmonised VTOL operations in Europe. We also finalised means of compliance for SAIL III unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
This matters beyond drones/VTOL: it’s a reminder that as the system evolves, safety depends on shared understanding and shared language — otherwise complexity creates gaps that complacency can hide behind.
In July we also published an SIB on Load Reduction Device Activation on LEAP Engines.
On the environment side, the European Commission endorsed Air France-KLM’s cooperation with EASA on EU Flight Emissions Label.
We also published articles on the Air Ops Community on Communicating to Passengers, Hot Cabins and Fatigue Risk Management.
August – The Importance of Learning
Annual Safety Review and Recommendations Review published
Aviation has a long history of learning from accidents. At the same time, SMS principles also make it important to identify and manage risks. Both were covered in August with the publication of the EASA Annual Safety Recommendations Review (ASRR) and also the EASA Annual Safety Review 2025 (covering 2024 safety data and trends).
A useful element is that it explicitly spans domains — including commercial, GA, rotorcraft and UAS — and highlights rising importance of safe drone integration as occurrence reporting increases.
On the Air Ops Community we covered Ramp Safety following a short visit to Manchester to join easyJet and DHL.
September – Safe Space and Public Engagement
Safety culture includes passengers too
EASA launched a new film addressing passengers as part of its wider Safe Space ambition — making EU air travel “a safe space for everyone” and strengthening public connection to safety and sustainability.
Also in September we published survey results on the ethics of AI in aviation, reflecting cautious optimism and clear concerns — a sign that trust, oversight and human factors are becoming central to how we approach operational technology.
On the GA side, we published an article from CAA Norway on Night Flying.
October – Drones: Accelerating Safe Integration
EASA’s Innovation Air Mobility hub and SORA evolution
In October, EASA highlighted further progress in the drone ecosystem, including updates to its Innovative Air Mobility hub and the move to SORA 2.5 to simplify authorisation processes for UAS operations in the “specific” category.
We also concluded 3 International Cooperation Projects. While on the safety side of things an SIB was published on Runway Stop Bars and we also hosted our SAFE360 Conference (Summary here).
November – Rotorcraft Community + Complacency in Focus
Rotorcraft community connection + cross-domain safety messaging
November featured major rotorcraft community activity around the EASA Rotorcraft Symposium and European Rotors, with topics spanning safety landscape, operational risks, and psychosocial health.
Also in November, Copenhagen in Denmark played host to EASA’s Annual Safety Conference (ASC 2025) under the theme “Aviate-Navigate-Communicate – Safety Today, Safety Cross-Domain, Safety Tomorrow”. One message especially loud: complacency, arising from strong safety performance, is a major safety threat, alongside a call for simplification and sustained vigilance.
There was also an Emergency AD on the Airbus A320. We also published a new article on Glider Rigging, the Winter Edition of our Conversation Aviation magazine and an update to the Fuel Management Manual.
On the medical side, we hosted a Conference on Advancing Health Management in Aviation: Diabetes and Cardiovascular Research Insights.
December – Planning Forward: EPAS 2026
European Plan for Aviation Safety (EPAS) 2026
In December, EASA published EPAS 2026, including updates to strategic priorities and actions designed to mitigate key safety risks while also focusing on efficiency and rule simplification.
There was also an update to the Easy Access Rules for Part IS. Articles included the Top Winter Safety Issues, Winter Mindset, Rostering/ Fatigue/ Mental Health and Checklist Drift.
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