Fabio Nicolai is an Aeronautical Engineer and, since November 2023, the Deputy Director General of the Italian CAA (Ente Nazionale per l'Aviazione Civile - ENAC). He is also a commercial pilot, and flight instructor for both VFR and IFR operations. Over his career, he has held several significant positions, including Director of the Technical Standard and Aeronautical Operations Directorate at ENAC from October 2024 to May 2024 and Director of the Aviation Regulation Directorate from October 2019 to October 2023, where he managed the coordination of the aeromedical section along with airports and airspace, airworthiness, security, personnel and flight operation, air transport, and environmental concerns.

In September 2021, he became an Adjunct Professor of ICAO Regulations and Safety Management System for the MSc in Aeronautical Engineering at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - Sapienza University of Rome. Previously, in October 2020, he was appointed as the Italian Representative on the EASA Committee and the EASA Member States' Advisory Body (MAB), and also as an Alternate Representative on the EASA Management Board and Blue Med Governing Body. Between November 2019 and June 2024, he served as Project Leader of the EU Twinning Project with the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority, a role focused on enhancing Lebanon's civil aviation authorities' capabilities in safety and security.

From March 2015 to Seprember 2019, Fabio was appointed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affair as the Alternate Representative of Italy on the ICAO Council and represented Italy on various committees, including Air Transport and Air Navigation. He also served as an Observer on the Air Naviagtion Commission and as a member of the Secretariat Study Group on Cybersecurity. Between 2014 and 2015, he led the Aviation Safety and Security Inspectors' Training for the EU Twinning Project with the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority. Additionally, he served as an Italian advisor on ICAO's Flight Operations Panel from 2011 to 2015 and as an Italian expert on the European Air Safety Committee from 2010 to 2015.