AENA S.M.E. SA

Their core work

AENA is Spain's national airport operator, managing 46 airports across the country and ranking among the largest airport management companies worldwide by passenger volume. In H2020, they contribute real-world airport operational data, infrastructure access, and domain expertise to research projects focused on air traffic management modernization (SESAR), airport environmental performance, passenger flow optimization, and airport security. Their role is typically that of an end-user validation partner — providing the operational environment where research concepts get tested against the complexity of live airport systems.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015–2018, AENA focused heavily on core ATM modernization through SESAR: demand-capacity balancing, runway throughput optimization, wake turbulence separation, and network operations planning. From 2019 onward, their participation shifted toward airport-level concerns — emissions and air quality (AVIATOR), passenger journey optimization (IMHOTEP, TRANSIT), and notably security threats including drone intrusion (ASPRID) and combined cyber-physical attacks on critical infrastructure (PRAETORIAN). This evolution reflects a broadening from pure air traffic efficiency toward environmental compliance, passenger experience, and physical-digital security resilience.

AENA is moving from air traffic flow optimization toward airport resilience — combining environmental monitoring, cyber-physical security, and multimodal passenger management into an integrated airport operations perspective.

How they like to work

AENA never coordinates projects — they participate as an end-user partner (6 projects) or third party providing operational validation (8 projects). This is consistent with their role as an infrastructure operator: they bring real airport environments and operational data, not research leadership. With 154 unique partners across 27 countries, they are a high-connectivity node in European aviation research, making them a valuable consortium member for any project that needs access to major airport infrastructure.

Extensive European network spanning 154 unique partners across 27 countries, built primarily through large SESAR consortia. Their connections cover the full aviation ecosystem — air navigation service providers, airlines, research centers, and technology companies.

What sets them apart

AENA operates one of Europe's largest airport networks, giving consortium partners something no university or SME can offer: access to live, large-scale airport operations for testing and validation. Their dual presence in both SESAR ATM programs and security/environment projects means they understand airports from airside operations through passenger terminal to perimeter security. For any project needing to demonstrate results in a real airport setting, AENA is one of the few organizations that can provide that at scale across multiple airports.

Highlights from their portfolio

• AVIATOR
  Directly targeted aviation emission regulation — measuring aircraft emissions and their health impact at airports, with potential to shape future EU air quality standards for airports.
• PRAETORIAN
  Largest funded project as participant (EUR 155,750), addressing combined cyber-physical threats to critical infrastructure with digital twin technology — a significant expansion beyond traditional aviation topics.
• ASPRID
  Second-largest funding (EUR 188,750), tackling the fast-growing challenge of protecting airports from drone intrusions — a problem with immediate operational urgency.