The inaugural Forbes Verified Air Travel Awards 2024 has announced its winners, but African aviation stakeholders failed to make an impact in any of the 22 award categories. The awards, which recognize excellence in airline and airport experiences, saw major winners from the US, Dubai, Qatar, Singapore, and France.

The lack of African representation is surprising, given the continent's growing aviation industry. However, African airlines have performed well in other global rankings, such as the Skytrax awards, which evaluated over 325 airlines and customers from 100 nationalities.

The Forbes awards, based on incognito inspections and a survey of 5,000 well-traveled industry experts, highlighted the best in airport design, in-flight cocktail lounges, and airline apps, among other categories. The winners included Emirates, Delta Air Lines, Singapore Changi Airport, and NetJets.

This snub may serve as a wake-up call for African aviation stakeholders to focus on improving their services and amenities to compete with global leaders.