29 May 2026
The challenge for civil aviation operators is to achieve competitive and sustainable aviation. The growing demand to increase efficiency, sustainability, safety and security, enhance resilience and reduce costs requires innovative solutions.
16 December 2025
Recently, a remarkable incident made the news: thousands of Airbus aircraft worldwide were grounded after cosmic radiation disrupted digital electronic systems. A problem long familiar in space applications is becoming increasingly relevant for aviation. Ongoing digitalisation is making modern systems more vulnerable to invisible radiation from space.
15 July 2025
In aviation operations, managing fatigue is essential as it diminishes an individual’s ability to perform almost all operational tasks. This clearly has implications for operational efficiency, but in situations where individuals are undertaking safety-critical activities, fatigue-effected performance can also have consequences for safety outcomes.
09 July 2025
The Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) and its partners have completed a comprehensive research study on the effectiveness of current EU flight duty time limitations and rest requirements for aircrew members. The study, known as FTL2.0, aimed to assess whether current regulations provide sufficient protection against fatigue among aircrew members. The results of this research study have deepened the understanding of fatigue risks in commercial aviation and validated the current regulatory approach.
28 March 2025
In the aviation industry, achieving exceptional safety standards is paramount. At NLR, we understand that a strong safety culture is the foundation upon which safety excellence is built. Our seven-step safety culture improvement approach is designed to help organisations like yours become number one in safety by identifying and reinforcing weak areas, while leveraging existing strengths. Unlike traditional safety culture assessments that provide a fragmented view without actionable advice, our solution offers a tailored approach that empowers organisations to take their safety culture to the next level.
25 February 2025
NLR can provide expert support during accident or incident investigations, offering specialist advice and analysis of critical data such as flight or radar records. Our team can also delve into the details of flight performance and dynamics, as well as investigate systems, components, materials, or structures through testing and analysis. This helps to uncover the root causes of incidents and inform safety improvements.
25 February 2025
Safety performance indicators are used to assess operational safety performance through monitoring. A safety performance indicator is defined in the ICAO Safety Management Manual as a measure (or metric) used to express the level of safety performance achieved in a system. They are generally expressed in terms of the frequency of occurrences of some event causing harm, e.g., the number of fatal aircraft accidents per year or serious incidents per 10,000 flight hours. A set of indicators should also include leading indicators. These indicators do not require a safety event to take place and are metrics that provide information on the current situation that may affect future performance.
25 February 2025
NLR can provide an objective assessment of aerospace operators, including air traffic controllers, pilots, and other professionals, evaluating their mental workload, stress levels, fatigue, attention, and alertness, as well as their activity levels, to gain a comprehensive understanding of their performance and well-being.
