Marseille, 19 May 2026 — The 166th meeting of Directors General of Civil Aviation (DGCA/166) of ECAC Member States took place in Marseille, hosted by the French Direction générale de l’Aviation civile (DGAC).
Discussions focused on operational resilience, safety, sustainability, workforce challenges and geopolitical developments affecting the sector. Directors General received updates from Ukraine on the civil aviation situation in the country and ongoing recovery preparations. Representatives of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) exceptionally joined the meeting. Chris Rocheleau from the FAA provided updates on recent priorities related to safety, people and air traffic management modernisation.
EUROCONTROL, EASA and the ICAO EUR/NAT Office directors gave updates on their respective priorities and activities. Particular attention was given to operational preparedness for the 2026 summer season.
The meeting further provided an opportunity to exchange views on recent European aviation developments and on the latest discussions within the ICAO Council, including preparations for the ICAO Seventh Worldwide Air Transport Conference (ATConf/7) and the possible Extraordinary Session of the ICAO Assembly.
During the closed session, Directors General elected Maksim Et’hemaj (DGCA Albania) and Francine Zimmermann (DGCA Switzerland) as new members of the ECAC Coordinating Committee, and David Benito Astudillo (DGCA Spain) and Henri van Faassen (DGCA Netherlands) as Vice-Presidents of ECAC. Directors General also welcomed the continued progress towards the entry into force of the Convention on the Bureau of ECAC, noting that 23 Member States had now signed the Convention.