As the global aviation ecosystem rapidly evolves, driven by advanced automation, emerging aircraft types, and increasing airspace complexity, Boeing, SkyGrid, and Wisk have jointly introduced a Concept of Operations for Automated Flight Rules (AFR)—a foundational framework that defines how highly automated and uncrewed aircraft will integrate into the airspace of the future.
Soft-released during the CANSO Airspace Asia Pacific conference in Hong Kong, this milestone underscores the companies’ shared commitment to supporting regulators, Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), and industry partners as they prepare for the next era of highly automated operations, which will include the integration of novel operations such as Advanced Air Mobility.
A New Mode of Operation for a New Generation of Aviation
For nearly a century, aviation has relied on two primary operating modes: Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). These frameworks have supported modern aviation’s safety, growth, and overall impact, yet they were not designed with highly automated aircraft in mind, such as those equipped with detect-and-avoid systems and advanced mission management automation. AFR is designed to address this gap by complementing, not replacing, VFR and IFR, and by being available to any properly equipped airspace user.
The AFR Concept of Operations proposes a new operating mode that:
- Enables the safe, efficient, and scalable airspace integration of highly automated and uncrewed aircraft.
- Leverages novel aircraft and ground-based systems to automate traffic management functions in specific scenarios.
- Unlocks new operational opportunities—from free-flight concepts to high-density flows in dedicated corridors.
What AFR Enables
AFR will introduce higher levels of automation into how air traffic is organized and how aircraft remain safely separated in specific airspaces and scenarios. Incorporating these capabilities into the design of new flight rules enables several key benefits:
- AFR will support safe, routine uncrewed aircraft operations without the need for waivers or exceptions. Current flight rules assume a pilot is onboard to visually detect other traffic and communicate with ATC.
- AFR will improve airspace access for new entrants, such as Advanced Air Mobility, without an associated increase in air traffic controller workload.
- AFR will offer greater enroute trajectory flexibility to AFR operators by allowing for more complex flight trajectories that remain safely and efficiently deconflicted.
Why Now: Technology and Industry Are Ready
For more than a decade, industry groups and regulators have explored what new flight rules might look like. Today, several forces are converging:
- Aircraft automation technologies are maturing, including onboard detect-and-avoid, mission management, and digital flight controls.
- Airspace digitization is accelerating, with global implementation of ICAO’s GANP and ASBU frameworks.
- Regulators worldwide are actively exploring new flight rule paradigms to support AAM, uncrewed aircraft, and autonomous flight.
This creates a rare inflection point: aviation now has both the need and the technological readiness to introduce a new ruleset built with higher automation in mind.
An Industry Blueprint for the Future of Automated Flight
The AFR Concept of Operations is designed to catalyze global dialogue and align the ecosystem—including ICAO, CAAs, ANSPs, operators, and technology providers—around a shared direction.
It offers:
- A high-level vision for a new mode of operation.
- A rationale for why AFR is necessary.
- Use cases and system implications for airspace, aircraft, and aerodromes.
- A roadmap for future rulemaking, harmonization, and research.
Evolving the concept of Automated Flight will require coordinated industry action across technical research, standards development, policy advancement, and operational trials. Boeing, SkyGrid, and Wisk are committed to supporting a collaborative, global approach—one that ensures AFR evolves in alignment with safety, interoperability, and the public interest.
As aviation approaches a significant opportunity to evolve operations beyond existing paradigms, AFR represents a bold step forward in shaping a digital, automated, and scalable future for global airspace.
Read the Concept of Operations:
