Aviation Festival Asia 2026 is fast approaching, and so are the inaugural AFA Awards. Taking place on Day 1 of the event (25th March), the Awards have been designed to highlight excellence across the APAC industry, from cutting-edge digital solutions to meaningful sustainable development.

Cast your vote today to have your say!

The nominees are:

Sustainability Achievement Award

Recognising outstanding commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainable practices in aviation.

  • Korean Air — for its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) partnership with Samsung.
  • Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru — for its comprehensive sustainability programme, including a 95.6% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
  • Air New Zealand —  for powering innovation in electric aircraft.

Best Use of AI

Honouring exceptional application of artificial intelligence to improve operations, efficiency, or passenger experience.

  • Abu Dhabi Airports — deploying AI to optimise airport operations.
  • Adani Airports — for providing multilingual, omnichannel customer service support.
  • Virgin Australia — for its OpenAI integration.

Collaboration of the Year

Celebrating a successful partnership between airlines or between an airline and an airport that delivered measurable innovation or impact.

  • Air India & Singapore Airlines — for establishing a collaborative commercial agreement.
  • Changi Airport’s airline network growth partnerships — a dedicated team to help airlines get the most out of Singaporean aviation.
  • Hong Kong Airlines & Sydney Airport — strengthening connectivity within APAC.

Industry Game-Changer

Awarded to an airline that has redefined norms, challenged conventions, and driven transformative change within the industry.

  • Singapore Airlines — always committed to the cutting-edge through new partnerships with OpenAI and superior customer service.
  • Qantas — pushing the boundaries with a new in-house Innovation Centre and its flagship ‘Project Sunrise’ engineering plans.
  • Korean Air — collaborating to advance eVTOL integration, and enhancing the customer experience through new partnerships with Starlink, among others.

Smart Airport Journey Award

Recognising an airport that has significantly enhanced the passenger journey through innovative technology solutions.

  • Dubai Airports — for the world-first ‘document-free’ biometric corridor
  • Delhi Airport — for its ‘smart’ Terminal 2 renovation and AI management system
  • Incheon Airport — debuted innovative pre-flight baggage screening for US travel.

Digital Innovator of the Year

Awarded to a company, team, or initiative that demonstrated visionary use of digital tools or platforms to reshape airline or airport operations, customer experience, or service delivery.

  • Qatar Airways — for its cutting-edge IFE system.
  • AirAsia MOVE — the region’s intermodal air travel pioneer.
  • Changi Airport — deploying autonomous baggage vehicles to improve airport performance.

Who do you think deserves to take home the awards? Make your voice heard and vote today by clicking here. The voting window will close on Friday 27 February 2026.

Be sure to join us at the event, 25-26th March, to celebrate the nominees and winners. See you in Singapore!

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