Nikos Fistas
- Head of Standardisation
- EUROCONTROL
Nikos is Head of the EUROCONTROL Standardisation Service, where he oversees EUROCONTROL standards, cooperation with EASA on standardisation, and collaboration with international standardisation bodies.
Prior to his current role, Nikos led the EUROCONTROL Network Manager’s datalink team, supporting the deployment and operation of CPDLC across Europe. Earlier in his career, he also contributed to and led the development of advanced aviation communication systems for datalink and surveillance use, starting from research and validation through specification and standardisation. He has support and contributed to the SESAR1 and SESAR2 communication projects as well as the datalink activities of SDM.
On behalf of EUROCONTROL and SESAR, Nikos has supported international coordination on datalink aspects between Europe and the United States under EU–US cooperation frameworks, working with ICAO and the FAA on initiatives such as DCOM, CCOM and Action Plans.
With nearly 30 years of experience in aviation, he has represented EUROCONTROL in several technical groups, in particular in ICAO, EUROCAE, RTCA, AEEC and ETSI.
Sessions
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Latest in Regulations and Mandates
ATM standardization and regulatory updates
As Europe implements the SES2+ regulation and the new set of EASA‑led interoperability rules, manufacturers and ANSPs face deadlines for certifying equipment, aligning to harmonised performance requirements, and integrating emerging technologies such as drones and eVTOLs. SESAR 3 is central to delivering the Digital European Sky, with efforts to advance automation, AI integration and virtualised ATM services. Aligning system architectures to new conformity standards is critical. Meanwhile, evolving U-space, drone, and eVTOL regulations demand parallel adaptation across airspace users and infrastructure providers. What are the latest updates on regulations and mandates that will impact the development and deployment of new technologies and systems?