As the airline that flies to more countries that any other, Turkish Airlines continues to receive accolades for its performance and leadership in the sector. With the leadership during the Covid 19 pandemic, aviation’s most severe crisis yet, along with the quick action which turned out to effective as supported by strong numbers during the post pandemic recovery, Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Ekşi received the Executive Leadership award during the 2022 Airline Strategy Awards.

Organized by the FlightGlobal’s Airline Business in partnership with the civil aviation practice of Korn Ferry, the largest human-capital solutions provider in the world, the awards started in 2002 as the industry struggled to emerge from a crisis caused by 9/11. As the awards’ goal was to recognize the crucial role that management talent plays in shaping future success, this year’s awards take on a special meaning as Covid became the biggest aviation crisis since 9/11.

The awards are held in six categories, Executive, Sector, Low-cost and Air-Cargo Leadership, plus Innovation & Transformation and ESG while winners are selected by an independent panel of industry experts.

Receiving the Executive Leadership award in place of Mr. Bilal Ekşi, Turkish Airlines Chief Investment and Technology Officer Levent Konukcu said; “First of all, I would like to thank you on behalf of our esteemed CEO, Mr. Bilal Ekşi and Turkish Airlines family for this award. As Turkish Airlines, during the pandemic process, which may be the most challenging times ever the aviation history experienced, we have distinguished ourselves from our competitors by not disrupting our operations as much as the situation allowed, while overcoming the difficulties with innovative approaches. And as a result, we became one of the leading airlines in recovery by taking the first place with the flights between European Airlines. Now we observe a serious recovery in passenger traffic, and we aim to have a high performance in the summer season. With the strong recovery of the aviation sector as a whole the worse is behind us and now is the time for everyone to build on their past successes. As Turkish Airlines we aim to not only catch our pre-pandemic numbers but also surpass them by constantly bettering ourselves in a short amount of time.”

On the award won by Turkish Airlines, Graham Dunn, head of content at FlightGlobal and host of The Airline Strategy Awards, said; “Navigating airlines through the past two years has tested management skills to the limit. And as the industry emerges from the pandemic, it is becoming clearer which leaders have acted not only to ensure their airlines’ survival, but to ensure their businesses are better-suited to post-Covid realities. At the same time, new challenges are emerging, further testing the resilience of individual businesses. The Airline Strategy Awards have recognized the best in leadership since 2002, and 2022’s winners all excel in this regard.”

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