ALEXANDRIA, Va. — International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar will deliver the opening keynote on Day 1 of Flight Safety Foundation’s 79th annual International Aviation Safety Summit (IASS) on Nov. 10 in Montreal. In his remarks, Salazar will set the stage for the summit’s theme: Is Aviation Really Ready to Scale Safely? Leadership for Growth, Complexity, and Disruption.
“Secretary General Salazar’s perspective will be especially timely as aviation confronts rapid growth and increasingly complex operational challenges,” said Dr. Hassan Shahidi, president and CEO of Flight Safety Foundation. “His keynote will challenge leaders across the aviation ecosystem to think boldly about how we scale while keeping safety at the center of every decision.”
IASS 2026, which is scheduled for Nov. 10-12 at ICAO Headquarters in Montreal, is expected to bring together dozens of subject matter expert speakers and panelists and more than 350 attendees from across the global aviation ecosystem to explore what can be learned from the past and what needs to be reimagined for the future if aviation is to meet the challenges of rapid growth, increasing complexity, and frequent disruption.
The opening keynote will be followed by an executive panel of industry leaders who will discuss how senior leaders build trust, reinforce accountability, and make safety credible when growth, cost, schedule, and disruption compete for attention.
Other agenda highlights include panel discussions on scaling the workforce without shrinking safety margins, safely integrating advanced air mobility and uncrewed aircraft systems into the airspace, enhancing in-time safety management, and using artificial intelligence to detect weak signals and support faster safety-critical decisions without breaking the chain of accountability. Featured speakers will address subjects including how to turn data and information into trusted safety intelligence, how to manage the future airspace system, and how to coordinate more frequent commercial space operations in shared airspace.
Day 2 will feature three breakout sessions that will include panel discussions on breaking the cycle of recurring safety events, developing infrastructure and capabilities for tomorrow’s airspace, and building resilience for safe recovery. In each track, the panel discussions will be followed by interactive workshop-like audience engagement sessions in which attendees and panelists will work to identify priorities and barriers to progress.
For more information on IASS 2026, including the latest agenda, speakers, and registration, please visit the IASS 2026 page on the Foundation’s website.
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About Flight Safety Foundation (flightsafety.org)
Flight Safety Foundation is an independent, nonprofit, international organization engaged in research, education, and communications to improve aviation safety. The Foundation’s mission is to connect, influence, and lead global aviation safety.
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