Civil Aviation Industry Awards

Civil Aviation Industry Awards given out to New Zealand’s leading aviation companies for leadership in safety.

Young skydiving center, Skydiving Kiwis wins the prestigious Director’s Award for an organization for their dedication to keeping tourists and New Zealanders safe.

Leaders in the aviation industry gathered at the TSB Arena in Wellington last week for the Civil Aviation Authority annual awards ceremony and gala dinner. The event celebrates organizations and individuals who are the forefront of transforming New Zealand’s civil aviation industry through their dedication to safety, leadership and innovation. Among the winners were Skydiving Kiwis, an increasingly popular tandem and sports skydiving centre, operating out of the Ashburton Airport in the Mid-Canterbury region. Skydiving Kiwis CEO Lee Barraclough was personally commended by the Director of the Civil Aviation Authority Graeme Harris and presented with The Director of Civil Aviation Award to an organization.

‘The Director of Civil Aviation Awards are presented annually to the individual, and to the company or organization that demonstrate an outstanding safety ethos – the awards go to those who go out of their way to do the right thing and do it the right way. Their actions have directly resulted in safety standards being raised, and they have encouraged others in the aviation industry to do the same. Both Awards are presented each year only if the CAA considers there to be a worthy recipient in each category. ' explained Harris.

‘While past recipients of the Director’s Award for an organization have had long-standing histories in aviation, the 2016 winner has only a four-year history but has been recognized by many in the sector and in the CAA as an example of dedication, and adherence to high standards, with the clear understanding that, in aviation, compliance with rules is simply not enough….Skydiving Kiwis is one of only two skydiving centers in the country to run regular skydiving events – and the only one in the South Island – with the last camp being attended by 100 participants from all over the country. This was the biggest skydiving event organized in New Zealand for the last decade. Its CEO Lee Barraclough, himself a champion skydiver, leads a thriving company with passion and drive, and is now committed to introducing cutting-edge safety systems into his small organization,’ said Harris in his opening address to the audience present at the TSB Arena.

In his addressing speech, Barraclough stressed the importance that local operators in New Zealand maintain close relationships with the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand and work as a team to incorporate existing safety procedures and systems into the day to day operations of what is one of the biggest contributors to the tourism economy in New Zealand. ‘When you really think about safety, skydiving or flying helicopters or flying airplanes and jumbo jets…These are activities that we love in New Zealand. At the end of the day, the people that we take with us to experience these amazing environments with us become our friends, our family and people we love.’ He concluded by stating that 'adventure aviation operators have a responsibility to look after their customers and collaborators just as much as we needed to look out for our ourselves.'

The CAA has had the challenging task of reforming the civil aviation industry since 2011. Their main goal has been to promote a more dedicated culture of safety and high standards of security performance throughout the aviation community in New Zealand. This award comes as a turning point in the CAA’s endeavor and speaks for the success with which these new regulations systems have been implemented across the aviation industry.

The Director’s Award to an Individual went to Richard Rayward, the CEO of Air Safaris and the CAA Flight Instructor Award went to Canterbury- based fixed wing flight examiner, Pete Dixon .

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