Regarded as the most valuable awards for the route development community, the annual Routes World gongs celebrate the partnerships and leaders that drive global air connectivity
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) has been crowned the Overall Winner of this year’s Routes Awards, as well as taking home the Over 20 Million Passengers award.
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport’s ‘2025 Pioneers’ strategy aims to develop a new airport model geared towards sustainability and performance, in line with societal and environmental expectations.
With a core focus on increasing direct connectivity and promoting competition between key markets, Charles de Gaulle added 71 new routes and 23 new destinations to its map in 2022, and the airport has now recovered 88% of its 2019 passenger traffic levels.
David Dufros, Aviation Development Director at CDG, said: “We would like to thank our airline partners for this achievement. This award encourages us to continue developing air connectivity in a sustainable way.”
In the Under 5 Million Passengers category, the UK’s Newcastle International Airport was named the winner. Providing cost-effective, tailored and comprehensive marketing and travel trade exposure for its airline partners, Newcastle has welcomed four new airlines and 30 new routes in the last year.
The 5-10 Million Passengers category was won by Larnaka International Airport in Cyrpus, which introduced a new airline incentive scheme in 2022 that focused on new routes, market penetration and winter operations.
Brussels Airport, winner of the 10-20 Million Passengers category, provides extensive marketing support for its airline partners, with campaigns over the last year including 10 online activation contests, 16 social media campaigns, and 12 on-airport giant display opportunities.
Cape Town Air Access was named the winner of the Destination category. Collaborating with both public and private entities to enhance air connectivity, Cape Town Air Access has consistently exceeded international passenger recovery rates, achieving 106% of 2019 levels in the year to date, with the addition of seven new international airlines and routes in the past year.
Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling secured the Airline award. The airline’s focus is on building a sustainable future for itself and its partners, putting emphasis on a long-term approach to partnerships.
The Rising Star award went to Tatamo Rakotozafy, Head of Aviation Marketing at Ravinala Airports in Madagascar. She has been instrumental in improving air connectivity for the airport operator, including establishing the country’s first financial incentive programme for airports there.
The Individual Leadership award was won by Vicki Jaramillo, Chief Development Officer at Orlando International Airport.
Jaramillo has dedicated her career to connecting the world to Orlando. Her passion for promoting air service stems from her own personal travel experiences, driving her to play a key role in the launch of multiple international routes with major carriers including Emirates, Lufthansa and many more. These achievements have been the product of perseverance, creating strategies unique to each airline’s needs, and developing an expert knowledge in both the quantitative and qualitative data behind a route proposal.
Following the win, she said: “It is a great honour for me to receive this Individual Leadership award for lifetime achievement in route development. This accomplishment is the pinnacle in my air service development career, which has been my passion.”
