The Air Charter Association recently welcomed nearly 400 guests to London's Guildhall to celebrate the presentation of the very first set of awards following its recent rebrand from the BACA Excellence Awards.

This year there was a new award, the Sir Michael Marshall Award for Diversity in Air Charter. It was sponsored by Cambridge airport and was presented to aspiring astronaut Dr Jaclyn Bell. Sir Michael, who passed away earlier this year, led the Cambridge, UK-headquartered aerospace and defence, property and ventures company, Marshall Group, founded by his grandfather in 1909.

Other winners included Air Hamburg for Executive Passenger Charter Operator of the Year (sponsored by Air Charter Service); Titan Airways for Airline Passenger Charter Operator of the Year (sponsored by Air Charter Service); Embraer for Aircraft Manufacturer of the Year (sponsored by London Biggin Hill airport); and Eduardo Costa for Young Person of the Year (sponsored by Farnborough airport).

The Chairman's Award, sponsored by Titan Airways, was the final presentation of the day and was made posthumously to Sir Michael Marshall to recognise his considerable impact across all areas of the aviation industry throughout his lifetime. The award was collected by Cambridge airport director Kevan Craske.

The Air Charter Association chairman Nick Weston said: “Sir Michael Marshall's love of flying, his time in the RAF and his support of all things aerospace kept him busy. He was a vociferous advocate for women in aerospace engineering, supported STEM education and ensured youngsters had the chance to experience the range of careers available. He was truly a force for good in the industry and it is fitting, therefore, that we celebrate his contribution to the industry here and honour him with this award.”

He went on to summed up the day by saying: “This has been a wonderful awards lunch in an incredible venue. We are proud of the opportunity to celebrate the best and have finessed the event to ensure that all facets of our industry may have the chance to participate. I heartily congratulate all the winners and would like to thank the sponsors and all of the team at The Air Charter Association for making this such a successful awards luncheon.”