The winners of the Schiphol Aviation Awards were announced last night by Birgit Otto, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, at the Schiphol Centre, Amsterdam.

The annual awards ceremony is organised by Schiphol Group to recognise customers and business partners that have made an especially strong or positive performance to the airport community during the year.

The awards are made up of four categories - Cargo Airline of the Year, Passenger Airline of the Year -- Europe, Passenger Airline of the Year -- Intercontinental, and a Sustainability Award.

Three organisations are shortlisted in each category, and all shortlisted organisations receive a certificate to acknowledge their contribution to the Schiphol Airport community.

The awards evening concluded with a networking dinner for members of the airport community to celebrate the efforts and achievements of the year.

Winners of the 2017 awards are:

Winner 2017 Cargo Airline Of The Year Award

KLM Cargo

KLM Cargo is a key driver for Cargo Community projects. The airline invests in data, planning, and procedures, and is the front runner in major projects such as the Smart Cargo Mainport Program, and the Holland Flower Alliance. KLM is Schiphol's largest carrier in cargo volume and air traffic movements.

The other nominees were Turkish Cargo and AirBridgeCargo Airlines.

Winner Best Passenger Airline Award 2017 - Europe

Transavia

Transavia contributed to the mainport network with the introduction of two new destinations, Katowice and Tirana, and six new routes: Munich, Helsinki, Belgrade, Zurich, Ljubljana, and Sofia. The Dutch airline has also made a major contribution to transparency and data exchange and scored very well on innovation, for example with a better process for hand baggage.

The two other nominated parties were easyJet and KLM.

Winner Best Passenger Airline Award 2017 - Intercontinental

American Airlines

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was added, a new destination to Schiphol's network. American Airlines is a good partner in innovative projects and transparent in sharing data. The carrier was and still is a front runner in a fast and efficient handling process, as exemplified by joining self-service drop off, known as CUSSDOP.

Besides American Airlines, Jet Airways, and KLM were also nominated.

Winner Sustainability Award 2017

KLM

KLM is increasingly integrating sustainability into its business operations and has taken great steps to reduce its environmental footprint. The renewal of its fleet is one example, with the phasing out of the Boeing 747 and saying farewell to the Fokker fleet. The use and further development of biofuel also contributes to lower emissions. On the ground, its efforts and progress in the transition to electrically powered equipment sets a true example.

Vanderlande and TUI fly were the other nominees in this category.

Contributed by Schiphol Cargo