Airport Honour Awards 2026 open with new category for start-ups

The Airport Honour Awards 2026 have officially opened for entries, inviting airports and innovators from across the global airport ecosystem to submit their achievements across 11 categories.

Now in their latest edition, the awards continue to recognise excellence across airport operations, leadership, innovation and passenger experience. For 2026, organisers have introduced a brand new category, IAR’s Start-up to Watch Award, designed to spotlight up-and-coming companies developing solutions to some of the sector’s most pressing challenges.The full list of categories open for entry is:

1. Sustainable Airport Award
2. Baggage Innovation Award
3. Airport Innovation Award
4. Accessible Airport Award
5. Passenger Experience Award
6. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Award
7. Airport Security Award
8. IAR’s Start-up to Watch Award
9. Airport Leader of the Future
10. Airport Leader of the Year
11. Airport of the Year

The newly launched Start-up Award criteria

The newly launched IAR’s Start-up to Watch Award aims to recognise an early-stage company with the potential to make a meaningful impact across the airport sector. The category is intended to highlight businesses developing genuinely innovative solutions that address common airport pain points, whether in operations, passenger experience, sustainability or digital transformation.

By introducing this award, the Airport Honour Awards 2026 seek to reflect the growing role of start-ups in shaping the future of airports, from improving efficiency and resilience to enhancing inclusivity and environmental performance.To be eligible for the IAR’s Start-up to Watch Award, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• The company must be under five years old at the time of entry.
• The company must employ fewer than 50 people globally.
• The company must be at pre-seed, seed or Series A funding stage only. Companies that have progressed beyond Series A are not eligible.
• The company’s annual revenue must be under £8 million.
• The company must be actively engaging with the airport ecosystem, demonstrated by one or more of the following:
  • participation in an accelerator or innovation programme;
  • piloting or trialling a solution with an airport;
  • actively seeking an airport partner for a pilot or proof of concept.
• The entry must relate to a genuinely innovative technology, product or process developed by the company. Solutions that primarily repackage, rebrand or resell existing third-party products or technologies are not eligible.
• The solution must be relevant to the airport sector, including but not limited to passenger experience, terminal or airside operations, sustainability, digitalisation, safety or asset management.

Alongside the new start-up category, the Airport Honour Awards 2026 continue to celebrate established best practice across sustainability, security, baggage, accessibility and leadership, as well as recognising airports and individuals shaping the future direction of the industry.

The judging panel

The awards will be judged by International Airport Review’s esteemed Advisory Board:

• Thomas Romig, Chief Airport Operations Officer, Masterise Group
• Tyronia Smith, Sr. Deputy General Manager and Airport Chief Revenue Officer, Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta Airport
• Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director, Manchester Airport
• Brian Cobb, Chief Innovation Officer, Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky International Airport
• Maurice Jenkins, Head of Digital Strategy and Chief Innovation Officer Miami International Airport
• Vivian Cheung, CEO, Hong Kong International Airport
• George Ioannou, Director of Innovation, King Salman International Airport
• Steve Armitage, Head of Technology Design & Innovation
• Oliver Braun, Senior Vice President Corporate Security, Berlin Brandenburg Airport
• Tara Mulrooney, Chief Technology Officer and VP Innovation, Edmonton International Airport

Entries for all categories are now open, with a submission deadline of Friday, 3 July 2026. Winners will be announced on 11 November 2026 at the International Airport Summit, bringing together senior airport leaders, policymakers and industry partners from around the world.

The Airport Honour Awards are organised by International Airport Review and are judged by an independent panel of industry experts, ensuring a rigorous and transparent evaluation process.Further details on entry requirements and judging criteria for each category are available via the Airport Honour Awards website.

What are you waiting for? Enter today!

Enter the awards