Cathay Pacific Named 2026 Asia Airline of the Year as CAPA Honours Regional Aviation Excellence

Regarded as the region's pre-eminent awards for strategic excellence in aviation, CAPA's Asia Aviation Awards for Excellence recognise airlines and airports that have demonstrated not only commercial success, but exceptional industry leadership in adapting to an evolving operational landscape.

The CAPA Awards for Excellence maintain their independence through rigorous evaluation processes that are neither influenced by customer surveys, nor by sponsorship arrangements.

Winners are selected through comprehensive independent research conducted by an international panel of expert judges and CAPA analysts.

CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Senior Director - Content & Marketing, Marco Navarria said: "The CAPA Asia Aviation Awards for Excellence represent our opportunity to celebrate and honour the pioneers of global aviation whilst also recognising genuine innovators who are reshaping the air travel sector. Our award recipients have distinguished themselves among their industry peers by spearheading transformational change and establishing new benchmarks for others to emulate".

Further to this, the awards also recognised global leaders in aviation sustainability across three dedicated categories. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was honoured with the Global Airline Sustainability Award for its whole-of-business approach to decarbonisation. Air New Zealand received the Asia Airline Sustainability Award following its comprehensive sustainability strategy reset and London Stansted Airport was awarded the Global Sustainability Airport of the Year.

2026 Award Winners Summary

• Asia Airline of the Year: Cathay Pacific Airways
• Asia Low Cost/Hybrid Airline of the Year: VietJet Air
• Asia Airline Executive of the Year: Walter Cho, Chairman & CEO Korean Air and Hanjin Group
• Asia Large Airport of the Year: Seoul Incheon International Airport
• Asia Small/Medium Airport of the Year: Penang International Airport
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Capt. Izham Ismail
• Global Airline Sustainability Award: KLM
• Asia Airline Sustainability Award: Air New Zealand
• Global Sustainability Airport of the Year: London Stansted Airport

Asia Airline of the Year - Cathay Pacific

CAPA - Centre for Aviation is pleased to announce Cathay Pacific Airways as its Asia Airline of the Year. The award is given to the airline which has been the strategic standout in Asia during the year and had the greatest impact on the regional airline industry.

Cathay Pacific Airways was the stand-out airline business across Asia for 2025/2026, making it a rare unanimous choice among CAPA's panel of judges for Airline of the Year.

The panel pointed to the overall strength of the airline's post-pandemic recovery, both on a per-airline and group-wide basis. Recent traffic, network and operational performance have been exceptional compared to regional peers.

Cathay Pacific has expanded in a considered fashion, enhancing its already impressive worldwide connectivity in a way that has supported profitable growth. Simultaneously it has kept levels of customer satisfaction high by undertaking an extensive cabin and product update, enhanced its lounges locally and across its international network and introduced new products to support customers, improve the passenger experience and minimise disruptions when they occur.

Even with more than 100 aircraft on order, the carrier is looking to the future and considering a major investment in new capacity. This would allow it to take full advantage of Hong Kong International Airport's new three runway system and provide momentum out to the middle of next decade.

Asia LCC/Hybrid of the Year - VietJet Air

CAPA - Centre for Aviation has named VietJet Air as its Asia LCC/Hybrid of the Year. The award is given to the airline which has adopted a low-cost or hybrid strategy and distinguished itself among its peers, shown itself to be a regional aviation leader and demonstrated innovation in the sector.

In just 15 years, VietJet Air has grown to become the largest carrier in Vietnam. The airline has adopted an integrated ecosystem development strategy, complementing its network development with a group-based approach that has added training, maintenance, ground handling and technology elements to improve its core competencies and diversify its operations and revenue.

This has allowed the carrier to manage an extraordinary combination of exceptionally rapid growth and consistently strong levels of operational efficiency and profitability. This has made VietJet Air not just a stand-out hybrid carrier in the Asia Pacific region, but one of the most dynamic airlines worldwide.

Capitalising on Vietnam's rapid economic growth and trade, investment and tourism links, VietJet Air is now positioning itself for long-term sustainable growth. With an order book of more than 600 aircraft, the carrier intends to expand its international network rapidly out to 2030 and turn itself into a key Asia Pacific regional aviation player and an element to support Vietnam's ambitions to develop itself as global aviation hub.

Asia Airline Executive of the Year - Walter Cho, Chairman & CEO Korean Air and Hanjin Group

CAPA - Centre for Aviation is pleased to announce Korean Air and Hanjin Group Chairman and CEO as its Asia Aviation Executive of the Year. The award is given to a regional aviation executive whose leadership and strategic decision making have produced an outstanding impact on the business they lead and the wider regional aviation industry.

Few leaders can boast of creating change on a truly regional scale. Korean Air and Hanjin Group chairman and CEO can rightfully claim to be leading one of the most significant transformations of aviation in Asia.

Having taken leadership of the airline in 2019, he managed to steer Korean Air through the pandemic, diversify the carrier's revenue base and network, strengthen its positioning as a major global cargo carrier and take on the monumental task of the acquisition and merger with Asiana Airlines.

The merger is officially due to be completed in Dec-2026, creating a regional aviation giant that will be one of the world's top 10 carriers by ASKs and top 20 by passengers. The merger of the group's LCC units will follow in 2027.

Cho has long been an advocate of strategic partnerships and collaboration for creating a stronger industry overall. He is a long-serving member of the IATA Board of Governors and has previously held the role of chairman of the SkyTeam Alliance Board. Both positions have helped to shape the direction of aviation not only regionally but globally as well.

"This recognition belongs to the entire Korean Air team for their dedication in navigating recent industry challenges and driving forward our successful integration," said Walter Cho, Chairman and CEO of Korean Air and Hanjin Group. "As we prepare to launch our integrated airline this December, we remain committed to our vision of becoming an airline loved by all, delivering an exceptional experience for our passengers."

Large Asia Airport of the Year - Seoul Incheon International Airport

CAPA - Centre for Aviation is pleased to announce Seoul Incheon International Airport as its Asia Large Airport of the Year. The award is given to the airport that has stood out strategically in the region through its leadership and support of the aviation sector and has done the most to advance progress in aviation.

Seoul Incheon International Airport reached some historical milestones in 2026, handling a cumulative 1 billion passengers since its opening in Mar-2001 and becoming the world's third largest airport by international passengers. Both are significant achievements and speak to not just the airport's global importance, but also the work Incheon International Airport Corp (IIAC) has put into ICN, one of the world's most attractive airports for passengers and airlines alike.

From its earliest days, ICN has pioneered new standards when it comes to customer experience and operational performance. IIAC continues to pursue ambitious infrastructure and sustainability initiatives that will keep the airport competitive with other global hubs for the long term, with a willingness to embrace new technology solutions and partnerships to maintain its reputation as a leading hub.

Not only does Seoul Incheon serve as the major gateway to South Korea, but it plays ever more important global roles when it comes to serving as a transit hub for the Asia Pacific and a key air cargo centre. With the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines set to reshape the airline competitive landscape not just in South Korea but throughout the wider Asia Pacific region, ICN and IIAC are only going to take on more prominence.

Small/Medium Asia Airport of the Year - Penang International Airport

CAPA - Centre for Aviation has named Penang International Airport as its Asia Small/Medium Airport of the Year. The award is given to the small to medium-sized airport which has shown standout strategic leadership, innovation and support of the aviation sector.

Penang International Airport stands out among its regional peers for the outstanding combination of rapid traffic growth and high levels of customer service it has achieved, while maintaining overall operational efficiency.

The airport serves as Malaysia's second-largest gateway as well as the country's number one when it comes to airport value, serving as a critical logistics point for the region's electronics and semiconductor industries.

Alongside this is the forward-looking infrastructure programme that owners Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) have initiated. This will double its maximum annual passenger capacity, with upgrades for the terminal, airside infrastructure as well as introducing Malaysia's first remote digital virtual tower.

Lifetime Achievement Award - Capt. Izham Ismail

CAPA - Centre for Aviation has announced Izham Ismail as the 2026 recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognises leaders who have profoundly shaped commercial aviation over their careers and honours the long-term, significant contributions they have made to the air transport industry.

Retiring from Malaysia Aviation Group in Jan-2026 after more than 40 years with the carrier as a pilot, manager and executive, Datuk Captain Izham Ismail has spent decades not only shaping aviation in Malaysia but quietly playing a major role in how global aviation has developed.

After decades of operational and managerial roles at Malaysia Airlines, he served as CEO of MASwings in 2016. Following this Capt Ismail moved back to Malaysia Airlines in for a stint as chief operating officer before becoming Group CEO and Managing Director of Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) at the end of 2017.

As CEO, he led MAG through a transformative and difficult period for Malaysian aviation, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent aviation recovery and restructuring of Malaysia Airlines.

Alongside this, he has served as a key board member at companies and organisations across the aviation industry in Malaysia and globally. This included more than seven years on the oneworld governing board and nearly five years on the IATA board of governors.

Global Airline Sustainability Award - KLM

CAPA - Centre for Aviation is pleased to announce KLM as its Global Sustainable Airline of the Year. The award is given to the airline that has best adopted principles of sustainability and efficiency into its operation and has done the most to advance the progress of aviation decarbonisation and reducing the sector's overall environmental impacts.

Few airlines are embracing the journey towards net-zero and aviation decarbonisation like KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. One of Europe's oldest and largest airlines, KLM is also one of its leaders when it comes to adopting a whole-of-business approach to decarbonisation. This includes global leadership when it comes to sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), via a progressive and proactive purchasing policy that is supporting a long-term scale up. The airline is also driving operational and environmental efficiency through fleet modernisation, infrastructure development, technological innovation and key collaborations and partnerships to optimise its performance.

More than most, KLM realizes that sustainability is not a solo journey, and as such has taken on a vision of shared responsibility when it comes to accelerating the industry's energy transition. KLM not only engages with its customers, stakeholders and supply chain partners to put sustainability at the forefront of what it does but has shown leadership in embracing innovation and knowledge from outside the aviation sector to pursue new solutions.

Under the banner of the wider Air France-KLM Group, KLM is engaged with an aggressive decarbonisation roadmap, including 10% use of SAF and nearly 20% reduction in per unit emissions by 2030. KLM has also signed up to sector-leading sustainable financing agreements and entered collaborations with local, regional and global partners in order to not only reduce its impact on the environment but to ensure that air travel is conducted in a more responsible manner overall.

Asia Airline Sustainability Award - Air New Zealand

CAPA - Centre for Aviation is pleased to announce Air New Zealand as its Asia Sustainable Airline of the Year. The award is given to the Asia Pacific-based carrier that has best adopted principles of sustainability and efficiency into its operation and has done the most to advance the progress of aviation decarbonisation and reducing the sector's overall environmental impacts.

Air New Zealand was CAPA's Asia Pacific airline sustainability leader in 2025, but this clearly was not enough for the airline, which underwent a full sustainability strategy reset in 2026. What emerged was 'Te Pae Hou - Our Future' based around pillars of customer first operational performance, growth targeted towards a profitable and resilient route network and transformation of the airline's cost base through disciplined capital management.

This is the sort of vision that true sustainability requires - the realistic merging of environmental performance with the day-to-day operations and financial health of an airline.

Even with ongoing issues around fleet renewal and replacement, the carrier has enhanced its 2030 'Well-to-Wake' net greenhouse gas emissions by another 5 percentage points, to a target of 25% to 30% by 2030 (against a 2019 baseline). Within the revised sustainability framework, Air New Zealand remains committed to uplift 10% of its jet fuel as SAF by 2030 (with uplift of 1.2% for FY2026, making it a regional leader) and retains its commitment towards the industry's long term 2050 net zero target.

Global Sustainability Airport of the Year - London Stansted Airport

CAPA - Centre for Aviation is pleased to award London Stansted Airport as its global sustainability airport of the year. The award is granted to the airport that best incorporates sustainability as a core part of their business and plays a leadership role in driving the decarbonisation of aviation as it moves towards its long-term net zero emissions goal.

London Stansted Airport shows how sustainability leadership can be achieved by taking a whole of operation approach. A major gateway for London and the Southeast of England, the airport features one of the busiest single-runway operations in the world and serves as a major hub for the fast-growing regional low-cost market.

One of the three UK airports owned and operated by Manchester Airports Group, Stansted has taken an approach that marries the commercial requirements of the business and future growth needs with robust stakeholder and community engagement. The airport has set the key objective of transitioning to net zero carbon operations (Scope 1 and Scope 2) by no later than 2038.

While gearing up to deal with anticipated rapid passenger growth, the airport is also taking its environmental responsibilities and community impacts seriously to ensure that it can grow in a sustainable way.

Specific on-airport moves include planned construction of an on-site solar farm, the transition of all airport infrastructure to renewable energy by 2030 and renewal of the ground vehicle fleet to ultra-low emission vehicles, also by 2030. Stansted is also working to investigate opportunities to use local resources to drive sustainable aviation fuel adoption as well as engage with the community on the topic.