Definition

Airspace management. The process by which airspace options are selected and applied to meet the needs of the ATM community.

Source: ICAO Doc 9854 Global Air Traffic Management Operational Concept

Airspace management (ASM). The process by which airspace options are selected and applied to meet the needs of the airspace users.

Source: ICAO Cir 330-AN/189: Civil/Military Cooperation in Air Traffic Management

Description

Safety is the primary objective of air operations. Sometimes it can only be achieved by segregating a portion of the airspace for the conduct of specific activities (e.g. military exercises, parachute jumping, air shows, etc.) so that they do not present a hazard to the "normal" commercial operations (i.e. transportation of passengers and cargo). However, airspace is a limited resource and it is not always possibe to accomodate all such needs at the same time. It is therefore necessary to establish a system that can optimize the use of airspace. This has lead to the development of airspace management (ASM).