Picture the low-altitude skies above a major city five years from now: dozens of autonomous cargo flights, passenger eVTOL services, and helicopters operating simultaneously. Without new tools, even the most skilled controllers could quickly hit their workload limits. Automation is the key to scaling Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) without overwhelming Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) or compromising safety.
The Capacity Challenge
Air Traffic Control (ATC) capacity refers to the limits of what air traffic controllers can manage while keeping flights safely separated and traffic flowing smoothly. Controllers have an intense, high-stakes role in operating one of the most complex systems in the world, and there are well-established thresholds for the amount of traffic they can handle at any given time.
Enabling new types of operations at scale means finding solutions that ease this workload without compromising safety and allowing the current number of controllers to manage significantly more flights. The role of ANSPs will evolve alongside new aircraft and operational needs, making scalable automation a critical enabler.
Since staffing at the level AAM will require isn’t realistic, the path forward is to enhance the current workforce with automation tools. SkyGrid’s high-assurance data services and automation platform help controllers manage more traffic safely by reducing the number of manual interactions needed for each aircraft. Our system continuously evaluates the entire airspace environment, flagging potential hazards such as weather or communication outages before they impact operations.
Automation as a Force Multiplier
Scaling AAM safely requires automation that directly increases controller capacity while maintaining, or even improving, operational safety. SkyGrid’s automation suite is designed to handle many of the routine, high-volume tasks that consume controller time today, enabling ANSPs to manage more flights without exceeding safe workload limits.
Our tactical and strategic planning services help condition new entrant traffic before it reaches ATC, making it faster and easier to integrate. This includes:
- Flight Plan Validation– Continuously checks proposed flight plans against current traffic patterns, weather, airspace closures, and infrastructure status. Plans are automatically adjusted for feasibility, so when they reach ATC, they require minimal review.
- Demand-Capacity Balancing– Ensures that vertiports, airspace segments, and other resources are never over-allocated before clearance requests are sent to ATC, smoothing traffic flow from the start.
- Traffic Synchronization– Recommends optimal takeoff times that align with operator needs and ATC capacity, facilitating the sequencing of departures in busy, multi-aerodrome environments.
- Conformance Monitoring– Alerts ANSPs and operators when flights deviate from plan, enabling rapid intervention to maintain flow and safety.
By addressing potential conflicts, capacity constraints, and sequencing needs before an operation begins, these services reduce the number of real-time interventions ATC must make, freeing controllers to focus on higher-value oversight. In flight, our system will also highlight conditions to operators that will help them manage unexpected situations, reducing the actions required by ATC. Download our ANSP one-pager to see how these tools work in an operational context.
Safety, Efficiency, and Capacity Gains
By tracking both demand and capacity for key airspace elements—such as merge points, vertiports, and approach corridors—automation minimizes the amount of tactical problem-solving controllers need to do mid-operation. Strategic and pre-tactical tools increase certainty, reduce stress on ATC, and keep operations safe at higher volumes.
High-assurance third-party systems, like SkyGrid’s, are built to aviation safety standards, ensuring that critical data (like surveillance information used for conflict avoidance) is generated, processed, and distributed with the integrity required for safety-critical use.
From Overload to Opportunity
Automation is about freeing up human controllers to focus on higher-level management and strategic oversight, not replacing their role. ANSPs equipped with the right tools will be able to:
- Integrate new AAM operations at scale without overloading staff.
- Keep the airspace safe while accommodating growing operator demand.
- Shift from reactive, tactical problem-solving to proactive, strategic management.
AAM is coming to your airspace. Without automation, scaling safely will require staffing increases that are neither realistic nor sustainable. With automation, ANSPs can unlock new operations, boost capacity, and keep safety as the top priority. The future of low-altitude air traffic is automated—let’s build it together.