As a component of air traffic management, airspace management (ASM) is a process by which airspace options are selected and implemented to meet the needs of all its users, in accordance with the Global Air Traffic Management Operational Concept (Doc 9854). 

Airspace management is the process by which airspace organization and other service provision options will be selected and implemented to optimally meet the needs of airspace users. Competing interests in the use of airspace will make airspace management a very complex exercise requiring a process that equitably balances these interests.

In airspace management, the following guiding principles and strategies will be followed:

1. all airspace shall be managed flexibly. Airspace boundaries shall be adjusted to specific traffic flows, and should not be restricted by national boundaries or boundaries between facilities;
2. airspace management processes will accommodate dynamic flight paths and provide optimal system solutions;
3. where conditions require the organization of airspace to establish a separation between different types of traffic, the size, shape and timing of such airspace shall be established with a view to minimizing the impact on operations;
4. the use of airspace will be coordinated and monitored to meet the legitimate requirements of all users and to minimize any limitations on operations;
5. airspace reservations will be planned in advance and, wherever possible, changes will be incorporated dynamically. The system will also accommodate unplanned requirements;
6. structured routing systems will be applied only when necessary to improve capacity or to avoid areas where access has been limited or where hazardous conditions exist;
7. Uniform principles of airspace organization and management shall be applied in all regions. Global principles will be applied for all traffic density levels and will affect the entire traffic volume. Complex operations may limit the degree of flexibility; and
8. the areas that should seek an earlier and shorter implementation are those in which the expectations of the ATM community are not yet being met.