Transport / Loganair wins major aviation industry accolade
LOGANAIR has been named Airline of the Year for 2023 by the European Regions Airline Association (ERA), an accolade they previously had won in 2018.
The award, which recognises achievement and success in European aviation, was announced at the ERA’s general assembly meeting in Innsbruck, Austria, last night (Wednesday).
Loganair, which employs more than 850 people across its network, was honoured in recognition of its “impressive performance” in returning to profitability following the pandemic, whilst at the same time improving terms for its staff.
The award might prove somewhat controversial locally where Loganair has come in for a lot of criticism over the performance of its Sumburgh routes.
Airline chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said it was an “incredible honour” to be named airline of the year and thanked the company’s employees for their “extraordinary efforts in recent years”.
He added: “We were one of the very few airlines to continue flying daily throughout the pandemic, providing essential travel to remote communities, air ambulance services for Covid patients, and energy industry charter services that ensured the UK’s lights remained switched on.”
Judges also highlighted its progressive approach to the environment.
The airline’s GreenSkies programme, introduced in 2021 to manage and mitigate the environmental impact of flying through a combination of carbon offsetting, renewables investment and sustainable aviation research, was the first of its kind in the industry.
ERA director general Montserrat Barriga said: “With an impressive overall performance during 2022, Loganair has overcome the challenges of the previous two years brought on by the pandemic.”
The ERA is a trade association representing the European aviation industry. Its membership includes more than 50 airlines and 150 associate and affiliate members.
Founded in 1962, Loganair is now the largest regional airline in the UK by passenger numbers and fleet size, operating across almost 100 routes throughout the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia.
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