People
IATA award winners
June 7th 2019
After the issue of a lack of women in the upper ranks of the airline industry emerged as a major topic at last year’s International Air Transport Association AGM in Sydney, the airline association has taken a step in the right direction with the announcement of the winners of the first IATA Diversity & Inclusion Awards at its 2019 gathering in Seoul. Read More »
Sponsored by Qatar Airways, each of the three winners received a prize of $25,000, payable to the winner or to their nominated charities.
The winners were:
• Inspirational Role Model, Christine Ourmières-Widener, chief executive of European carrier Flybe.
• High Flyer Award: Fadimatou Noutchemo Simo, Founder and President, Young African Aviation Professional Association (YAAPA)
• Diversity & Inclusion Team: Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand’s award was accepted by its CEO, Christopher Luxon. The carrier embarked on its Diversity and Inclusion journey in 2013. Its initial focus was on gender and accelerating the advancement of women with A Women in Leadership Program aimed at women realizing their full potential while working at Air New Zealand.
The airline also created various networks—Women in Digital, Women in Engineering & Maintenance and WINGS (female pilots). The number of females in senior leadership roles at Air New Zealand has increased from 16% in 2003 to 42% today.
