FTE Innovate Awards 2026 – The definitive aviation industry innovation competition
Now open to airlines, airports and solution providers worldwide
Enter now
FTE Innovate Awards
Now in their fourth edition, the FTE Innovate Awards are firmly established at the epicentre of the APEX FTE EMEA event.
Building on the momentum of previous years, the Awards have been expanded to welcome participation from across the global aviation ecosystem, reflecting the international relevance of the initiatives being showcased and the growing global array of participants that the APEX FTE EMEA event attracts year-on-year.
Following the success of the 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions – which have featured a selection of the industry’s most forward-thinking organisations such as International Airlines Group (IAG), Turkish Airlines, Air France, flydubai, Lufthansa Group, Qatar Airways, Emirates, SAS, TUI, SunExpress, Alaska Airlines, Fraport, Aeroporti di Roma, Schiphol Group, Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Munich Airport, Aena and Tampa International Airport, alongside innovative solution providers including Arcube and Journey Robotics – the competition has gone from strength to strength.
In Dublin this June, airlines, airports, startups and established solution providers from around the world will compete head-to-head to showcase game-changing innovations that deliver real-world impact, with the finalists pitching live on stage to expert judges and a highly engaged industry audience.
View the 2025 Award winners Enter nowAwards categories:
The Most Innovative Airline Initiative award is open to commercial airlines from around the world. To qualify, the initiative must have launched in Q3 2025 or later. We are looking for unique initiatives that display industry leadership and have delivered tangible benefits since being introduced. Initiatives that have delivered benefits in the following areas will be awarded extra credit: Operational Efficiency, Customer Experience, Commercial Performance and/or Sustainability.
- Please describe the initiative and how it came to be?
- When did the initiative go live within your organisation?
- What is so innovative about the initiative?
- Can you provide any tangible results that prove the success of this initiative?
- What do you perceive to be the long-term impact of this innovation?
- To what extent did budgets and resources impact this initiative?
- How much collaboration was needed internally, and with other stakeholders, to develop and rolls out this initiative?
- Is this initiative something that could scale across your organisation, and perhaps the wider industry?
- What are the key learnings from this project that others could take into their organisation?
- What benefits, if any, does your initiative deliver in the areas of Operational Efficiency, Customer Experience, Commercial Performance and/or Sustainability for your airline?
If your submission is successful, can you commit to pitch your idea to our judges and audience at APEX FTE EMEA in Dublin on 9-11 June 2026?
Please attach any relevant documents to support your submission.
The Most Innovative Airport Initiative award is open to airports from around the world. To qualify, the initiative must have launched in Q3 2025 or later. The judges will be looking for unique initiatives that display industry leadership and have delivered tangible benefits since being introduced. Initiatives that have delivered benefits in the following areas will be awarded extra credit: Operational Efficiency, Customer Experience, Commercial Performance and/or Sustainability.
- Please describe the initiative and how it came to be?
- When did the initiative go live within your organisation?
- What is so innovative about the initiative?
- Can you provide any tangible results that prove the success of this initiative?
- What do you perceive to be the long-term impact of this innovation?
- To what extent did budgets and resources impact this initiative?
- How much collaboration was needed internally, and with other stakeholders, to develop and roll out this initiative?
- Is this initiative something that could scale across your organisation, and perhaps the wider industry?
- What are the key learnings from this project that others could take into their organisation?
- What benefits, if any, does your initiative deliver in the areas of Operational Efficiency, Customer Experience, Commercial Performance and/or Sustainability for your airport?
If your submission is successful, can you commit to pitch your idea to our judges and audience at APEX FTE EMEA in Dublin on 9-11 June 2026?
Please attach any relevant documents to support your submission.
The Best New Transformative Concept award is open to air transport industry startups and vendors from around the world. To qualify, the initiative must have launched in Q3 2025 or later. The judges will be looking for genuinely transformative products, services or initiatives that demonstrate clear industry leadership and the potential to reshape how the aviation ecosystem operates. Solutions that can deliver benefits in the following areas will be awarded extra credit: Operational Efficiency, Customer Experience, Commercial Performance and/or Sustainability.
- Please describe the transformative concept and how it came to be?
- Has the solution gone live yet?
- What is so innovative about the concept?
- Can you provide any tangible results that prove the success of this initiative?
- What do you perceive to be the long-term impact of this concept?
- To what extent did budgets, R&D and resources impact this initiative?
- How much collaboration was needed internally, and with other stakeholders, to develop and roll out this initiative?
- What are the key learnings, if any, from this project that other industry stakeholders could benefit from?
- What benefits, if any, does your concept deliver in the areas of Operational Efficiency, Customer Experience, Commercial Performance and/or Sustainability in the air transport industry?
If your submission is successful, can you commit to pitch your idea to our judges and audience at APEX FTE EMEA in Dublin on 9-11 June 2026?
Please attach any relevant documents to support your submission.
Awards criteria:
Click on a category above to view the criteria.
In all categories, extra credit will be awarded to efforts that deliver tangible benefits in the following areas: Operational Efficiency, Customer Experience, Commercial Performance and Sustainability.
Why you should enter the FTE Innovate Awards
The FTE Innovate Awards recognise and celebrate the most impactful aviation industry innovations from around the world, providing a high-profile platform for organisations shaping the future of the industry.
As a centrepiece of the APEX FTE EMEA event, taking place in Dublin on 9-11 June 2026, the Awards bring together senior innovators and decision-makers from across the global aviation ecosystem. Successful entrants, including the shortlisted organisations and overall winners, receive extensive recognition for their achievements through FTE’s media channels in the months leading up to and following the event, as well as live on stage in front of a highly influential international audience.
Being part of the FTE Innovate Awards offers a unique opportunity to:
- Showcase your achievements – tell everyone about your success!
- Generate excellent PR opportunities
- Generate new business opportunities
- Receive validation for your team and organisation’s hard work
- Inspire the industry with your ideas and contribute to our mission of continually advancing the industry for the benefit of all passengers and stakeholders
If your submission makes the final shortlist, you will be invited to deliver a pitch to your industry peers and a panel of expert judges at APEX FTE EMEA 2026 in Dublin on 9-11 June. The judging panel will provide immediate feedback and each member of the audience will vote for their favourite entry using the event app. In each category, the initiative with the most votes will be named the overall winner.
The overall winner in each category will be announced during the closing session of FTE EMEA in Dublin on the afternoon on 11 June 2026.
All submissions will be reviewed by the FTE team, select members of the FTE Advisory Board, and members of the FTE Innovate Awards judging panel. Those selected as finalists will be invited to deliver a pitch to their industry peers and the expert judging panel at APEX FTE EMEA 2026 in Dublin on 9-11 June. The audience will vote for the winner in each category during the event.
If you are selected as a finalist and accept the invitation to deliver a pitch, your organisation will qualify for one complimentary ticket for APEX FTE EMEA to enjoy the show and pitch your submission on stage. Airline and airport finalists will also be offered a showcase spot on the exhibition floor to display the details of their shortlisted initiative and enable our audience to engage with them directly to learn more before casting their vote.
- Open to airlines, airports, vendors, and startups worldwide.
- To qualify, the initiative must have launched in Q3 2025 or later.
- Each entry may include a maximum of 10 appendices to support the submission
- Appendices are supporting evidence and must be relevant to your entry
- Any appendices too large to submit can be shared as a zip file using secure transfer sites such as wetransfer.com to kerry@futuretravelexperience.com
- Entries made after the deadline will not be accepted. For questions regarding this deadline, please contact kerry@futuretravelexperience.com
- Leave plenty of time to complete your entry to ensure it is of the highest quality and allow extra time for content to be signed off by your organisation internally
- Ensure you have the appropriate permissions to share the information provided in your submission
Spotlight on Previous Winners
In 2024 and 2025, standout initiatives took home the top prizes:
Gallery of Previous Winners
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