In Electronic Bulletin 2026/12, issued April 9, ICAO called on the aviation community, including regulators and operators, to work together to ‘promote and support the mental well-being of aviation personnel to enable safe aviation operations.’

Operations in or near conflict zones can increase levels of stress, anxiety, and fatigue facing pilots, flight attendants, air traffic controllers, and maintenance and ground personnel, the bulletin said, noting that the causes of the additional stress could include fear of a missile strike, explosion, or other threat or actual exposure to such an event. Passengers may experience similar reactions, and ICAO also urged aviation stakeholders to aid them as much as possible.

“Mental health risks in conflict zones are foreseeable, cumulative, and safety-critical,” the bulletin said, adding that continued exposure without multi-layered mitigation measures can “negatively affect individual well-being and potentially compromise flight safety.”

The bulletin called for timely communication among managers and aviation personnel to discuss difficulties associated with conflict zone operations and potential solutions, as well as expectations from aviation personnel, support mechanisms, and potential incentives. Regularly voiced support from leadership, especially in the form of in-person or video communications, is also critical, ICAO said.

“Supporting employee mental well-being at all levels might mitigate the risk of errors and contribute to personal resilience, which could reduce the potential for flight safety occurrences, incidents or accidents,” the bulletin added.

Noting that aviation personnel often are reluctant to seek mental health assistance – possibly because of fear that the consequences might affect their careers – the bulletin encouraged operators to “provide general mental health awareness and support” by encouraging aviation employees to seek mental health support, training personnel to recognise stress symptoms and to apply acute stress management techniques, and training managers to recognise when employees are experiencing stress and how to refer them for assistance.

Countering GNSS Interference

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Eurocontrol have published a joint action plan outlining action to limit interference with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) operations.

In their European Aviation Action Plan for Ensuring Safe Operations During GNSS Interferences, the two agencies noted that GNSS interference is occurring regularly, especially near conflict zones. The plan “focuses on maintaining safety in the near term while limiting impacts on airspace capacity and containing the threat of GNSS interference,” the agencies said.

The plan calls for joint monitoring and data sharing to help establish a picture of interference events across Europe and develop more accurate means of detecting the problem. The plan calls for consistent guidance for air traffic controllers to help them manage disruptions and maintain safe operations.

The plan was developed in response to a June 2025 letter from 13 European Union member states to the European Commission, calling for coordinated European action to address GNSS interference.