ATCA Board Chooses U.S. Airlines’ Chief Advocate Nicholas E. Calio as 2024 Recipient of Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award

ALEXANDRIA, Va.–ATCA is proud to announce that it has selected Airlines for America (A4A) President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio as the 2024 recipient of the Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award, the organization’s highest honor.

Calio will be honored at a banquet celebration on the evening of November 7 at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. to close the newly refocused ATCA Connect annual event. His name will be inscribed on the award trophy alongside some of aviation history’s most influential pioneers, visionaries, and leaders from airspace organizations and agencies, government, and industry.

“I am honored and humbled to be receiving the prestigious Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award and follow in the footsteps of countless industry greats. But this award is not just about the names engraved on the trophy—it is about the incredibly talented team I have the privilege of working with at A4A as well as the one million men and women who make the U.S. airlines go every day of the year,” said Calio.

Calio has led A4A, the trade association representing the country’s leading passenger and cargo airlines, since 2011. The group advocates for America’s airlines as models of safety, security, efficiency, and customer service. He has led the association’s focus on being an influential voice in helping to shape legislative priorities and regulatory policies that improve air travel for everyone. He has fiercely advocated for the modernization of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) physical and technological infrastructure. 

“I am thrilled that Nick will take his rightful place alongside the past recipients of this prestigious award, which pays tribute to the historic visionary that was Glen Gilbert,” ATCA Board Chair, Rachel Jackson, said. “ATCA’s new enhancements this year highlight the importance of industry partnerships with the FAA and the air traffic management and airspace integration communities. Under Nick’s leadership, A4A also rebranded, and he has focused on working collaboratively with all stakeholders, particularly Congress, the executive branch and labor. He is known for his ability to build consensus, and he achieves great successes.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Calio’s leadership was credited for helping save the airline industry. He worked closely with Congress, industry partners, labor groups and other stakeholders to support the Payroll Support Program that kept airline employees on the job, trained, licensed and ready to go once demand returned. Simultaneously, Calio partnered with Harvard University’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to commission landmark, independent research studying the risk of transmission of COVID-19 during air travel—research that showed the risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus was quite low and that airplanes were in fact safer than restaurants, grocery stores, or other frequently visited places. The findings were critical to restoring public confidence in air travel and relaunching air travel. Today, air travel volumes in the U.S. are at record high levels, with two million people traveling daily.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Nick and watching for many years his passionate advocacy for our nation’s airlines.  His leadership style is built on collaboration, communication, and building meaningful relationships built on trust, which is exactly why people across the political spectrum value his insight during the most serious challenges,” said ATCA President & CEO, Carey Fagan. “Nick often says that he wishes more people would think about the miracle of aviation, all that it takes to make flying a reality. We take flying for granted, but it’s truly miraculous that we can fly across the country in time for dinner or wake up across the ocean after an overnight flight. He knows—and appreciates—how much happens behind the scenes to keep aviation the safest mode of transportation in the world. I am very happy to see his career-long efforts recognized with ATCA’s highest honor.”

Calio’s career achievements have previously been celebrated with several awards, including the 2024 Hermes Air Transport Organization’s Katerina and George Iatrou Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the global airline industry. Calio was also honored by Vaughn College in 2023 for his efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and his leadership in the industry.

Prior to joining A4A, Calio was Citigroup’s executive vice president for global government affairs. He served President George W. Bush as assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs from January 2001 to January 2003. He held the same position during the administration of President George H.W. Bush. In between, he was a partner at a law and lobbying firm he co-founded, O’Brien & Calio, which was named one of the ten most powerful firms in Washington.

Calio is a proud native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, where he currently serves as Chairman of the Board, and Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Background

In 1935, it was the nation’s airline companies which organized and staffed the first airway traffic control stations in Newark, N.J., Chicago, and Cleveland before the federal government’s Bureau of Air Commerce took over, working with the airline companies to keep the system moving safely. A newly hired airway controller named Glen A. Gilbert was instrumental in developing the first air traffic control system.

Nearly 90 years later, the nation’s airlines continue to play an integral role in the safe and efficient transport of passengers and air cargo, driving nearly $1.5 trillion in U.S. economic activity and supporting more than 10 million U.S. jobs.

About the Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award and Trophy

Established in 1986, the Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award honors its recipients’ lifelong achievements in aviation. The award trophy is on permanent display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

To learn more about the award, including a list of past recipients, please visit: https://www.atcaconnect.org/glen-a-gilbert-memorial-soiree

To learn more about the trophy, please visit the National Air and Space Museum webpage here: https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/trophy-glen-gilbert-memorial-award/nasm_A19870046000#:~:text=Gilbert%2C%20one%20of%20the%20%22Fathers,first%20air%20traffic%20control%20system.