Korean Air’s Chairman and CEO, Walter Cho, won the Air Cargo Leadership Award at FlightGlobal’s Airline Strategy Awards in London on July 17.

FlightGlobal, one of the world’s most respected global aviation media, has organized the Airline Strategy Awards annually from 2002, and recognizes chief executives and airlines for outstanding strategic leadership and achievements.

Walter Cho was acknowledged for his leadership and innovative strategies in the airline’s cargo business that performed strongly and helped the airline to post an operating profit throughout the pandemic.

“Under the leadership of chief executive Walter Cho, Korean Air has been an industry leader in shifting its focus to air cargo during the Covid-19 crisis,” said Lewis Harper, editor of Airline Business.

At the awards ceremony, Walter Cho said, “Pandemic was tough for everybody in this room and in this industry, but for me it was even tougher because I was only six months into the job. But it quickly turned into something exciting and fun, because we were able to transform the mostly passenger airline into an all-cargo airline.” Cho added, “I would like to thank the entire Korean Air team for their fabulous work”

Lewis added, “With the acquisition of Asiana in the works, Cho’s Korean Air is emerging as a formidable force in the cargo sector with significant growth potential, giving it strong foundations on which to rebuild its passenger network as Covid-related restrictions fall away.”