The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the winners of the 2023 edition of the IATA Diversity & Inclusion Awards.

•    Inspirational Role Model: Poppy Khoza – Director of Civil Aviation, South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)
•    High Flyer: Camila Turrieta – Chair of the Diversity, Equity, Belonging, and Inclusion Committee, Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), and First Officer, JetBlue Airways
•    Diversity & Inclusion Team: Virgin Atlantic Airways

“In their fourth year, the IATA Diversity & Inclusion Awards play an important role in recognizing the work done by those who go above and beyond in engraining diversity and inclusion in the aviation industry. Through breaking taboos to introducing innovations and changing the status quo, this year’s winners exemplify the true nature of the industry: resilience, persistence and unhindered motivation to drive change,” said Karen Walker, Editor in Chief, Air Transport World and chair of the judging panel.

The other members of the judging panel include the winners of the 2022 awards: Güliz Öztürk, CEO, Pegasus Airlines; Kanchana Gamage, Founder and Director of the Aviatrix Project, and Alina Aronberga, SVP Human Resources, airBaltic.

“I congratulate the winners of the 2023 awards. By their example, they are leading the way to a gender balanced aviation industry. They have pushed boundaries to demonstrate that diversity and inclusion is fundamental to business success. Congratulations to three truly inspirational winners. Women are still under-represented in aviation, but with the help and example of these and previous award winners, we are making progress,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Qatar Airways is the sponsor of the Diversity & Inclusion Awards for the fifth consecutive year. Each winner receives a prize of $25,000, payable to the winner in each of the categories or to their nominated charities.

The 2023 IATA Diversity & Inclusion Awards were presented during the World Air Transport Summit (WATS) which followed the 79th IATA Annual General Meeting in Istanbul, Türkiye. – TradeArabia News Service