The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the winners of the 2024 edition of IATA Diversity & Inclusion Awards:

Inspirational Role Model: Kendra Kincade, CEO and Founder, Elevate Foundation

High Flyer: Mafunase Ngosa Malenga, Founder and Managing Director, Southern Africa Institute of Aviation Science and Technology

Diversity & Inclusion Team: British Airways

The judging panel also awarded a special commendation in the High Flyer category to Hana Al Awahdi, Senior Vice President, Human Resources Business Partner for dnata.

The 2024 IATA Diversity & Inclusion Awards were presented during the World Air Transport Summit (WATS), which followed the 80th IATA Annual General Meeting in Dubai.

"The winners are true beacons of the change that is happening as diversity and inclusion entrenches itself as a strategic priority for the aviation industry. Their contributions to righting the gender balance in aviation are truly inspirational and deserving of today’s recognition," said Yvonne Manzi Makolo, CEO of RwandAir and Chair of the IATA Board of Governors (2023-2024), who presented the awards.

"The quality of nominations gets more compelling every year as the results of aviation’s focus on diversity and inclusion become even more concrete. Real and important change has been affected by all the winners and our special commendation. By drawing attention to their impressive achievements, we hope to amplify that change even further," said Karen Walker, Editor-in-Chief, Air Transport World and Chair of the judging panel.

"I congratulate the winners and all who were nominated. Ensuring that aviation is a great career choice for all genders is critical because it helps our businesses individually. It makes the industry stronger, and it is what our customers expect. All those nominated, and particularly the winners, have moved aviation in the right direction," said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

The 2024 IATA Diversity & Inclusion Awards were presented during the World Air Transport Summit (WATS), which followed the 80th IATA Annual General Meeting in Dubai.