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Air Traffic Management Market

The market for Air Traffic Management was estimated at $12.1 billion in 2024; it is anticipated to increase to $19.0 billion by 2030, with projections indicating growth to around $27.6 billion by 2035.

Report ID:DS2301115
Author:Swarup Sahu - Senior Consultant
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Aerospace & Defense
Aviation & Aerospace
Air Traffic Management
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Report Price: $4,200
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Market Data
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Table of Contents

Global Air Traffic Management Market Outlook

Revenue, 2024

$12.1B

Forecast, 2034

$25.6B

CAGR, 2025 - 2034

7.8%

The Air Traffic Management industry revenue is expected to be around $13.0 billion in 2025 and expected to showcase growth with 7.8% CAGR between 2025 and 2034. The air traffic management (ATM) market has established itself as a vital strategic component which supports worldwide connectivity through its solutions that improve flight safety and decrease delays while handling rising air traffic density through sophisticated air traffic control and airspace management systems. The increasing number of airline passengers and growing aircraft numbers and developing international flight networks have become the main reasons for modernization initiatives. The combination of strict regulatory standards and security protocols has led organizations to keep investing in systems which provide both reliability and operational compatibility. The end use demand for commercial aviation and military and government users reaches 89.1% which demonstrates their need for joint airspace management and protected communication systems and immediate monitoring capabilities.

Air traffic management, also known as Air Traffic Control, operates through a unified system which includes air traffic control functions and airspace management and airport operations capabilities to direct aircraft safely through the air while maintaining operational efficiency from airport gates to airport gates. The system depends on communication and flight navigation and surveillance infrastructure which works together with advanced automation systems and decision support tools. The system operates with permanent radar and sensor tracking systems and it includes trajectory planning and secure data platforms which allow airlines and authorities to make decisions together for better route optimization and separation and flow management in all air traffic control areas. The system operates through commercial aviation routes and military aviation corridors and approach and landing procedures and tower operations and cross border coordination while unmanned traffic management systems for drones and other new airspace users become increasingly important. The hardware component segment which includes radar and communication and navigation and surveillance equipment generated $8.01 billion in sales during 2025 while digital tower development and satellite navigation systems and analytics based automation systems continue to drive system architecture changes and maintain strong market demand for sophisticated ATM solutions.

Air Traffic Management market outlook with forecast trends, drivers, opportunities, supply chain, and competition 2024-2034
Air Traffic Management Market Outlook

Market Key Insights

  • The Air Traffic Management market will expand from $12.1 billion during 2024 to $25.6 billion by 2034. The market shows a 7.8% annual growth rate because of increasing customer needs in Commercial Aviation and Military & Government and Urban Air Mobility sectors.

  • The market competition exists between Thales Group and Indra Sistemas S.A. and L3Harris Technologies Inc. which operate as its dominant market participants.

  • The Air Traffic Management market shows its largest customer base in the United States and China which will experience market expansion at 5.1% to 7.5% annual rates from 2024 to 2030.

  • The research predicts that Indonesia together with UAE and Vietnam will experience the most significant market expansion at rates between 9.0% and 10.8% CAGR.

  • The Transition like Digital Harmonization of Skies will generate $2 billion in new market value for Air Traffic Management throughout the next decade until 2030.

    .

  • The Air Traffic Management market will experience $13.5 billion growth during 2024 to 2034 while Navigation & Surveillance Application from manufacturers will dominate market expansion.

  • With

    rising airspace congestion and rapid expansion of digital tower solutions transforming global air traffic management efficiency, and

    Adoption of AI-powered automation and predictive analytics to enhance safety and capacity in air traffic management, Air Traffic Management market to expand 112% between 2024 and 2034.

air traffic management market size with pie charts of major and emerging country share, CAGR, trends for 2025 and 2032
Air Traffic Management - Country Share Analysis

Opportunities in the Air Traffic Management

The digitalization process has also enabled European drone delivery services and urban air mobility testing to establish a new market which requires integrated unmanned traffic management systems to operate within existing air traffic control and air traffic management systems. The services segment will experience significant expansion from 1.44 billion in 2025 to 2.11 billion by 2030 at an 8.02% CAGR because of increasing demand for consulting and integration and monitoring services for unmanned aircraft systems. The European metropolitan airspace will focus on developing secure platforms which enable manned and unmanned systems to operate together through shared terminal and approach areas.

Growth Opportunities in North America and Asia-Pacific

The main air traffic management system in North America depends on its dense commercial flight operations which make Commercial Aviation the leading market segment while Military and Government operations maintain their essential value and urban air mobility/drone operations show rapid market expansion. The main factors which drive this market include modernization efforts of air traffic control systems and ongoing increases in air travel passengers and cargo and airport space limitations and government support for NextGen air traffic management and drone safety integration. The main opportunities exist in using sophisticated decision support systems to optimize airport capacity and AI based flow management and digital tower technology for remote airports while developing secure CNS/ATM systems that improve safety and cybersecurity. The market competition remains high because defense contractors and software companies and established integrators fight for extended duration contracts which enables businesses that deliver interoperable platforms and cloud based services and scalable UAV traffic management solutions to succeed in this market.
The Commercial Aviation sector leads air traffic management in Asia Pacific because of its fast growing fleet numbers and extensive airport development initiatives and regional flight network expansion. The combination of drone operations and urban air mobility systems will create significant long term growth potential for air traffic management in densely populated metropolitan region's and delivery routes. The Military and Government sectors of different nations show different levels of interest in expanding their operations. The structural drivers consist of increasing middle class travel and airport development through new construction and existing site expansion and airspace modernization requirements and the requirement for unified civil military airspace control in complex regional region's. The most attractive business opportunities exist in three region's which include new airport integrated air traffic management platforms and ATC automation systems for secondary and tertiary cities and digital tower solutions that lower operational expenses and data based services which enhance predictive maintenance and traffic management. The market competition involves threes of players who include worldwide technology companies and local market leaders and government supported businesses which success depends on their ability to adapt solutions for local markets and create enduring business alliances and technology transfer programs and develop step by step implementation plans from basic air traffic control to sophisticated UAV traffic management systems and collaborative decision systems.

Market Dynamics and Supply Chain

01

Driver: Rising airspace congestion and rapid expansion of digital tower solutions transforming global air traffic management efficiency

The growing number of flights worldwide together with complicated airspace systems require advanced air traffic management systems for better control. The increasing traffic in terminal areas and busy flight paths demand new airspace management techniques which combine dynamic sectorization with trajectory based operations and satellite navigation systems in contemporary air traffic control infrastructure. The aviation industry faces an urgent need to boost flight operations while enhancing safety standards while protecting the environment through automated systems and analytical aviation data solutions. The supervision of airport operations through digital and remote tower solutions has also experienced fast growth which transforms how airports with low traffic and regional airports operate their supervision systems. The virtualized controller system along with high resolution sensor networks and ADS B surveillance allows control centers to monitor multiple airports through centralized command which decreases infrastructure expenses while enhancing their ability to monitor situations. The emerging patterns in aviation support the development of unified large scale air traffic management systems which will also enable future systems including unmanned traffic management and enhanced urban air mobility operations.

The implementation of AI powered automation together with predictive analytics has also become essential for developing future ATM systems. Decision support tools contain ML engines which process historical and real time data streams to create demand forecasts and identify conflicts at an earlier stage and determine the best flight routes for airspace capacity management. The system unites weather data with traffic information and surveillance feed to create flight paths which help military planners during their pre tactical and tactical operations. AI decision support systems help controllers perform better through alert prioritization and automated routine tasks which allow them to concentrate on difficult cases. The intelligent systems will also establish a foundation for airlines and airports and network managers to work together more effectively which will also result in better flight punctuality and system reliability and enhanced flight security standards.

02

Restraint: Persistent underinvestment and fragmented funding models delay modernization of global air traffic management infrastructure

Airports and ANSPs must delay their system upgrades because of ongoing budget problems which reduces their ability to purchase new air traffic control equipment while their current systems face rising demands from expanding air traffic. The delayed implementation of modern airspace management systems and air traffic flow management systems across major regions leads users to select maintenance services and software updates instead of adopting complete integrated air traffic management systems.

03

Opportunity: Accelerating deployment of AI driven air traffic management software across secondary airports in Asia Pacific and Scaling digital remote tower ATM for low traffic regional airports in North America and Scandinavia

The Asian Pacific region has started to implement software based air traffic management systems because airlines are upgrading their aircraft fleets while air traffic exceeds the capacity of their main airports. The worldwide software industry segment will expand from 2.65 billion in 2025 to 4.21 billion by 2030 while achieving a 9.7% annual growth rate. The market will experience its highest expansion through three key areas which include advanced airspace management systems and AI based decision assistance platforms and ATM systems. The deployment of regional operations will benefit from modular cloud based systems which combine airport operational data with satellite navigation to achieve better capacity management and reduced flight delays.

The current modernization trends will force North American and Scandinavian regional airports with small traffic volumes to preserve their ATM systems even though they have restricted personnel and minimal flight operations. The global hardware market will experience its most significant expansion through next generation digital tower solutions and remote surveillance infrastructure which will grow from 8.01 billion in 2025 to 11.29 billion by 2030 at 7.1% CAGR. The combination of advanced sensors with augmented visibility interfaces and remote operations centers enables providers to create innovative service delivery methods which simultaneously strengthen their ability to manage emergencies and their resistance to winter related disruptions.

04

Challenge: Regulatory complexity and slow certification processes hinder deployment of innovative digital ATM technologies

The implementation of multiple national and regional regulations which have multiple layers creates extended certification periods for new surveillance systems and automation technologies and digital tower solutions which forces vendors to spend more on development while their sales period becomes longer before they can generate revenue.

Supply Chain Landscape

1

Surveillance Radar

Saab ABL3Harris Technologies Inc
2

Air Traffic Management

Thales GroupIndra Sistemas S.A
3

ATC Communication Networks

Frequentis AGL3Harris Technologies Inc
4

Airport Operations

Commercial airlinesAirport operatorsDefense aviation
Air Traffic Management - Supply Chain

Use Cases of Air Traffic Management in Commercial Aviation & Urban Mobility

Commercial Aviation : The largest market for air traffic management exists in commercial aviation because it produced USD 7.71 billion in 2025 while showing 6.4% annual growth from 2026 to 2030 because of increasing air travel demand and airline requirements for better airport and airspace management systems. The system depends on its Communication, Navigation and Surveillance functions which operate as a single unit to support region control centers and control towers through their automation systems and decision support tools for exact flight path management and decreased flight time and increased airport capacity in busy air traffic zones. The air traffic control sector shows hardware based demand which accounts for 66.23% of total ATM requirements during 2025 while software and services make up 21.9% and 11.87% respectively. The commercial aviation sector uses radars and multilateration sensors and VHF and data link systems as its main hardware components while decision support software and predictive analytics serve as software components for next generation ATM systems. The market leadership for this application belongs to Thales Group and Indra Sistemas S.A. because they offer extensive CNS/ATM solutions and maintain dominant positions at airports and en route centers. The company Frequentis AG together with Saab AB and L3Harris Technologies Inc. maintains competitive market positions through their digital tower platforms and surveillance networks and controller working positions which provide them with strong defensible market positions because of their ability to interoperate and scale and maintain systems throughout their life cycle.
Military & Government : The requirements of commercial aviation serve as a foundation for military and government aviation operations which demonstrate increasing demand for ATM solutions. The market value for military and government aviation operations will reach USD 3.07 billion in 2025 while experiencing 7.7% annual growth until 2030 because countries implement new command systems and improve their ability to control airspace and their military civilian partnership operations. These users require advanced Communication systems which provide both resilience and sophisticated Surveillance capabilities through secure voice and data links and encrypted networks and extended primary and secondary radar systems and dedicated Automation and Decision Support modules which help with mission planning and quick reaction alert and contingency traffic management during stressful situations. The system provides its users with a special benefit which enables them to operate continuously while maintaining awareness of their situation during times of conflict or when their systems become compromised. The system requires ruggedized hardware and mission critical software and high value services which include systems integration and cybersecurity hardening and 24/7 maintenance. The company L3Harris Technologies Inc. leads the market through its secure communication systems and its tactical data link technology and defense grade surveillance systems. The company Thales Group together with Saab AB provides integrated air defense systems and joint civil military air traffic control centers to the market. The company Indra Sistemas S.A. supports this segment through its multi mission radar systems and automation platforms which enable national defense networks to connect with civil ATM systems.
Urban Air Mobility : The new ATM system now includes urban air mobility and drone operations as its expanding applications which will generate USD 1.32 billion in revenue during 2025 while showing a 14.98% annual growth rate from 2026 to 2030 because eVTOL services and logistics drones and autonomous aircraft concepts enter commercial operation. The main capabilities in this domain consist of Automation and Decision Support which use cloud native ATM systems and data fusion and real time analytics to support operations. The system uses satellite based Navigation and networked Surveillance solutions to enable high density low altitude routing and separation in complex urban environments. The main benefit involves moving from traditional air traffic control systems based on towers to digital unmanned traffic management systems which can handle thousands of connected vehicles through software based flexible architectures and API and service layer systems instead of traditional ground based equipment. The company Frequently AG leads the development of digital systems which enable urban airspace control and operate remote tower systems. The companies Thales Group and Indra Sistemas S.A. work on developing flexible CNS/ATM solutions and UTM platforms which connect to existing national ATM systems. The companies L3Harris Technologies Inc. and Saab AB provide sophisticated communication systems and surveillance solutions which enable drones and eVTOL aircraft to operate safely within controlled airspace.

Recent Developments

The current Air Traffic Control system has adopted digitalization and automation and integrated surveillance systems because of increasing worldwide flight numbers and enhanced safety standards. The current air traffic control systems use AI based decision support systems which work together with airspace management optimization and real time data exchange between airports and airlines. The market shows a fast growing trend toward remote and virtual control towers because these systems help regional airports achieve better operational performance at reduced costs.

May 2024 : The United States passed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 which provided multiple years of funding for air traffic management and airport operations modernization efforts that include NextGen air traffic control systems and digital towers and communication and navigation and surveillance system upgrades to increase market demand for sophisticated ATM solutions and improve flight safety and airspace operational capacity.
January 2023 : The European Unions U space Regulation entered into force to create a unified system which merges drone operations with unmanned traffic management under conventional air traffic management protocols thus European countries started investing in their ATM/UTM platforms and surveillance systems and digital airspace management systems.

Impact of Industry Transitions on the Air Traffic Management Market

As a core segment of the Aviation & Aerospace industry, the Air Traffic Management market develops in line with broader industry shifts. Over recent years, transitions such as Digital Harmonization of Skies and Green and Integrated Airspace Futures have redefined priorities across the Aviation & Aerospace sector, influencing how the Air Traffic Management market evolves in terms of demand, applications and competitive dynamics. These transitions highlight the structural changes shaping long-term growth opportunities.
01

Digital Harmonization of Skies

The ATM sector is undergoing a significant transition from fragmented control systems to unified, data driven airspace management platforms, fostering real time communication among airlines, airports, and regulatory bodies. This evolution is propelled by advanced automation, AI driven decision support, and digital tower solutions, which enhance collaboration among airport personnel and logistics providers. As a result, the industry is poised to improve aviation safety standards, reduce flight delays, and enable predictive maintenance across aircraft fleets. This comprehensive transformation, termed the Digital Harmonization of Skies, is projected to generate an estimated $2 billion in new market value by 2030, underscoring the strategic importance of these advancements in optimizing cargo delivery routes and enhancing multimodal transportation coordination.

02

Green and Integrated Airspace Futures

The second major development in ATM involves uniting traditional flight operations with unmanned traffic management systems which serve drones and new urban air mobility services. The current flight planning systems use optimization methods to create routes which minimize fuel consumption while reducing contrail formation thus helping airlines achieve sustainability targets and reducing their operational expenses. Power utilities together with offshore energy operators and emergency services gain advantages through digital management of low altitude corridors which enhances inspection flight reliability and medical delivery dependability while maintaining commercial and military aviation access to airspace.