Belfast City Airport shortlisted for Excellence in Aviation Training Award at Aviation Industry Awards 2025

Belfast City Airport was named a finalist for the Excellence in Aviation Training Award at the Aviation Industry Awards 2025, shortlisted last year for a programme that has spent over a decade giving successful applicants the practical experience, industry qualifications, and professional foundations needed to build meaningful careers within the aviation sector.

The High Flyers Apprenticeship Programme was built on the recognition that technical proficiency alone does not produce the kind of aviation professional the industry requires. From its inception, the programme placed equal emphasis on safety awareness, teamwork, and leadership development, ensuring that participants emerged not only with the skills to perform their roles competently but with the professional values and collaborative instincts that underpin a strong aviation safety culture.

By combining on-the-job learning with structured qualification pathways, Belfast City Airport created an apprenticeship model where real operational experience and formal accreditation advanced together, giving participants a grounding in aviation practice that classroom instruction alone could not replicate.

The judging panel assessed entries on programme development and objectives, implementation quality, measurable benefits to the business and the participant, and evidence of going beyond standard requirements to support apprentices in their learning and career progression. Belfast City Airport's shortlisting reflected the panel's view that the High Flyers programme represented a sustained and credible investment in aviation talent development with demonstrable benefits for participants and the wider sector.

As the Aviation Industry Awards 2026 cycle draws closer, the question facing Ireland's aviation community is who will carry the standard of training excellence and professional development that Belfast City Airport brought to the 2025 shortlist.

Visit the Aviation Industry Awards official website to explore all shortlisted finalists, review award categories, and subscribe for updates on Ireland's aviation sector.