INTRODUCTION
In times of regional geopolitical challenges, air transport is usually one of the most impacted industries. The short-lived Iran-Israel War of 2025 was not an exception. The War had far-reaching impact on many economies all over the world, but more importantly, it affected air traffic within the Middle East region and without. One of the countries that played key roles in ensuring continuation of air navigation within the Middle East region during this turbulent period is Egypt through the Egyptian National Air Navigation Services Company (NANSC).
According to the Company, as a result of the regional exigencies the Cairo Flight Information Region (FIR) witnessed over 220% percent increase in overflight traffic including what it called “a significant volume of uncoordinated flights”. To successfully handle disruption of such magnitude “underscores the importance of robust contingency planning and collaborative frameworks” in air traffic management. At one point the Company averred that it handled “an average of 700 flights on the first day, including approximately 100 flights per hour without prior coordination.”
THE BACKGROUND
On June 13, 2025, the Cairo FIR was faced with the “abrupt closure of a major regional airspace” within the region which event meant the Air Navigation provider needed to immediately activate “full-scale contingency protocols due to a significant increase in rerouted air traffic, many of which were operating with reduced fuel reserves.”
According to the NANSC, its success story in handling this exceptional traffic spike was anchored on: its proactive and coordinated response, fast response and the success story of the Egyptian ATCOs and its Contingency Response Team (CRT) to manage this crisis, maintain operational integrity, and ensure the safety of all flights within its area of responsibility.”
HIGHPOINTS OF THE SUCCESS STORY
Coordination A Critical Success Factor
Of critical Importance was the implementation of the stakeholder coordination by the Contingency Response Team (CRT) of NANSC. Key Coordination Meetings and NOTAM Implementation Critical coordination meetings were held with key partners. NANSC said the CRT maintained continuous and robust coordination with neighbouring FIRs to manage traffic flow at boundaries; the ICAO MID Office for regional oversight and guidance; with EUROCONTROL Network Manager (NM) and Contingency Coordination Committee (CCC) for European interface management. Internally, it liaised with stakeholders including the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) Operations, Cairo International Airport, and the Egyptian Airports Company “to ensure seamless ground-air integration.”
Measures Implemented
Implementation of measures to mitigate the impact of the airspace closure involved critical thinking in anticipating what could go wrong and the challenges including of requesting extra staff for high-workload sectors, coordinating with military authorities to open “restricted” areas for civilian use and ensuring that all controllers take their mandatory rest breaks to avoid fatigue.
It also involved ensuring the briefing of the next shift on the specific rerouting protocols in place.
In addition to the above, NANSC identified several measures in handling the traffic challenge. First externally was the “Development and implementation of rerouting scenarios to optimize traffic flow and ensure flight level availability.” It also reduced the separation minima with adjacent ACCs (Area Control Centers) to enhance capacity, following agreed-upon safety assessments and finally, it established real time “coordination and information sharing with all affected stakeholders.”
Secondly, it implemented internal measures including the following:
- Full mobilization of all air traffic controllers with valid ACC ratings.
- Strategic sector splitting to significantly enhance airspace capacity and distribution of workload.
- Suspension of non-essential leave and administrative tasks to maximize operational staffing.
- Effective utilization of system-supported tools to reduce real-time coordination workload and improve situational awareness.
Conclusion
Feedback from major stakeholders validated the measures implemented by NANSC. This included positive feedbacks from IATA, ICAO and Eurocontrol, all essentially applauding the Company for the effectiveness of the contingency operations, the excellent handling and zero delays, and timely planning and coordination.
The performance of the Cairo FIR also highlighted the place of human factor in ATM management. For instance, questions could be asked about how controllers manage the psychological pressure of “heavy frequency” (constant radio talking) for several hours, and in a crisis, do you rely more on automated conflict alerts or your own spatial visualization?
No doubt, the highly successful response of the Cairo FIR to the regional airspace crisis exemplified swift, dynamic, and highly coordinated contingency operations. Through proactive planning, real-time monitoring, and continuous engagement with all stakeholders, the Cairo FIR successfully managed an unprecedented surge in air traffic while upholding the highest standards of safety and efficiency.
The global aviation community stand to learn from the Egyptian experience gained from this event; and the valuable insights it provided for enhancing global contingency planning. This is even more telling as conflict zones are increasing not reducing across the world.