TUI UK & Ireland has won recognition at the Black Talent Awards ceremony in Birmingham. Its Caribbean & African Network (TUI-CAN), an employee group based in Luton, was named Employee Resource Group of the Year at the 2026 Awards.
Judges cited a Black History Month flight, operated by the group’s airline TUI Airways with an all-Black crew of pilots and cabin crew, as evidence of efforts to widen access to aviation careers.
Judges described TUI-CAN as “inspirational”. They said the network focused on three priorities: “Good Vibes Only”, “Knowledge is Power” and “You can’t be what you can’t see”.
The judges attributed the network’s standout moment to “the introduction of an all Black crew (including pilots and all cabin crew) on a flight as part of Black History Month which was applauded by waiting passengers at a UK airport.”
The Black Talent Awards result places TUI among the few UK carriers to receive external recognition for workforce representation initiatives covering flight deck roles. Pilot and cabin crew availability remains a recurring constraint on capacity planning for European leisure and low-cost operators.
Winners were announced across 15 categories at the awards’ fifth-anniversary ceremony at Edgbaston Stadium. They were selected from more than 300 nominations. An independent panel of 20 senior leaders from law, technology, media, education and healthcare judged the entries, supported by five youth judges. The airline sector produced no other winner.
Denise Myers, founder of the Black Talent Awards, said: “the real measure of our impact is what happens after the applause: the connections made, the doors opened and the next generation inspired.”
In a letter to mark the anniversary, the Prime Minister said the country should give everyone “a fair chance to get on in life”.
