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Higher-Altitude Platform Systems and Airspace Integration: Connecting Stratospheric and Conventional Operations

Join industry experts as they explore the emerging role of Higher-Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) and the challenges of integrating this new airspace layer into existing aviation and drone operations, including:

  • Airspace integration between stratospheric and conventional operations
  • Traffic management and cross-layer coordination
  • Regulatory frameworks and oversight models
  • The role of ANSPs and industry stakeholders in enabling safe deployment
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Higher-Altitude Platform Systems and Airspace Integration: Connecting Stratospheric and Conventional Operations

Higher-Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) are emerging as a new operational layer in the stratosphere, creating both opportunities and complex coordination challenges for the broader aviation ecosystem. As HAPS move closer to commercial deployment for connectivity, surveillance, environmental monitoring and other applications, regulators, air navigation service providers (ANSPs), and industry stakeholders must address how these platforms will safely coexist with conventional aircraft and drone operations.

In this webinar, industry experts will examine the regulatory, operational and technical considerations shaping HAPS integration, including:

  • Airspace integration between stratospheric and conventional operations
  • Traffic management and cross-layer coordination
  • Regulatory frameworks and certification pathways
  • The evolving role of ANSPs in managing higher-altitude operations
  • Implications for drone operations and future advanced air mobility ecosystems

Through real-world initiatives and forward-looking perspectives, we will explore how global stakeholders are preparing for the introduction of HAPS into controlled and upper airspace. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of the coordination mechanisms, governance models and strategic decisions that will define how this new airspace layer connects with existing aviation infrastructure.

Speakers

Lorenzo Murzilli

CEO at Murzilli Consulting
Lorenzo Murzilli is an aerospace engineer and an accomplished innovation leader with a specialised focus on aviation, airspace modernisation, system safety, and drones. His career in aviation began with work at Leonardo in Italy and Pilatus in Switzerland, before he joined the Swiss FOCA as a certification engineer for five years and subsequently led the Innovation Department for five years. His involvement with the Swiss FOCA, as well as JARUS and GUTMA, largely contributed to today’s regulatory framework and drone regulations, including developing the SORA methodology and the world's first private public U-space establishment in Switzerland. He is the co-founder and CEO of Murzilli Consulting, the digital drone consulting agency that focuses on regulatory compliance in the existing and emerging aviation sectors. He also serves on multiple drone start-up boards as an advisory board member and teaches at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
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Nicki Harricharan

Operations Programme Manager at CANSO
Nicki joined CANSO in 2024, bringing with her 16 years of FAA experience. She began her career as an Air Traffic Controller at the Washington DC ACC, then progressed to Front-Line Manager at New York ACC. She later served as a National Traffic Management Specialist at the FAA Command Center’s Severe Weather Unit, where she managed traffic flow during severe weather events, presidential movements, and rocket launches. Most recently, she led the Central Altitude Reservation Function (CARF) Unit and Space Operations team, integrating rocket launches into the National Airspace System and handling altitude reservations for military and civilian purposes.
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Léonard Bouygues

Director of Aviation Strategy at Sceye
Léonard Bouygues is the Director of Aviation Strategy for Sceye, a lighter-than-air High Altitude Platform System (HAPS) company providing connectivity and earth monitoring services. In this role, he focuses on the future of airspace integration and aviation regulations to safely integrate and operate large-scale, highly automated systems in the airspace. Previously, Léonard worked as an independent regulatory consultant for three years, specializing in the integration of highly automated aviation systems across low-altitude drones, Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), and high-altitude platforms. He contracted for the FAA, working with NextGen program managers to help build their new Higher Airspace Traffic Management (ETM). His work with the FAA included the development of ETM CONOPs 2.0, refining the concept of Cooperative Areas, and working on technical ETM implementation such as Traffic Flow Management (TFM) and Aircraft ID deliverables. In a separate consulting capacity, he also advised sUAS and higher airspace companies aiming for very large-scale deployment. Prior to his consulting work, Léonard was the Director of Safety for the eVTOL company Kittyhawk. Before that, he served as the Head of Aviation Regulatory Strategy and Head of Mission Operations for Google Loon, where he developed the Mission Control Centers and CONOPs. Loon was a network of high-altitude platforms that delivered internet connectivity to underserved areas, operating with 2 million flight hours and flying over more than 100 countries. Léonard has been working on the airspace integration of new entrants in higher airspace since 2018, collaborating closely with NASA and regulators on early concept development. In 2019, he presented the first industry concept at Drone Enable. He is a leading expert on the integration of highly automated operations operated at a very large scale.
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Marta García Gutiérrez

UAS Projects Manager at Telespazio
Marta is an Aerospace Engineer with a Master’s degree in Air Transport Systems from the Technical University of Madrid. Currently working as Program Manager of ISSEC project at the Fuerteventura Technology Park, managing work related to U-space, airspace management, and communications deployment to enable safe and advanced operations in a digitalised air environment. She has more than 8 years of experience in the aeronautical domain across both Air Traffic Management (ATM) and unmanned aircraft systems. Her background includes airspace analysis, optimisation, and redesign at national and international levels, with participation in high-impact TMA reconfiguration projects using advanced modelling and AI techniques to enhance operational efficiency and safety. She also has extensive experience in drone-related programs, including concept of operations development, system requirements definition, and UTM platform design, with a strong focus on U-space services and USSP evolution. Her work covers RPAS integration into controlled airspace and coordination of mixed manned and unmanned operations.
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Jesús Antonio García Muñoz

Head of Division ATFCM/ASM & ATCO - ENAIRE
Jesús Antonio is the Head of the ATFCM/ASM Division at ENAIRE, leading a team of 40 professionals and acting as the Single Point of Contact with EUROCONTROL. He is currently responsible for strategic airspace planning, civil-military coordination, and the optimization of air traffic flow and capacity management, contributing to the efficient and coordinated use of airspace at network level. Before taking on his current role as Head of the Airport ATM Operations Division at ENAIRE, he gained extensive experience in ATM operations, safety, and the development and implementation of operational procedures. With an operational and technical background, he holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from UPM, a certification as an Air Traffic Controller, and a Master’s degree in Operations and Innovation from ESADE.  Prior to joining ENAIRE, Jesús Antonio spent over a decade at Repsol in senior engineering roles in Electricity, Instrumentation, and Automation in a refinery.
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CANSO

CANSO is the global voice of the air traffic management industry. As the industry association, CANSO brings together the world’s air navigation service providers, leading industry innovators, and air traffic management specialists to share knowledge, develop best practices, and shape the future for secure and seamless airspace.
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