Pika Aero and DGM France Win 2026 IATA CBTA Center Innovation Award

The 2026 IATA CBTA Center Innovation Award has been jointly awarded to Pika Aero and DGM France, recognizing their pioneering use of artificial intelligence in competency-based training and assessment (CBTA) for dangerous goods handling.

Pika Aero:
- Developed immersive CBTA-based dangerous goods training.
- Uses AI to adapt lessons in real time, evolving scenarios based on each learner’s performance.

DGM France:
- Created an AI-powered training system tailored to each learner’s prior knowledge and experience.
- Provides structured feedback and highlights remaining training gaps after validation.

Industry Impact
- Both solutions demonstrate how AI can create realistic, personalized training environments that strengthen safety and compliance.
- IATA emphasized that these innovations raise training standards across the aviation industry, encouraging other CBTA Centers to follow suit.
- The award was presented during the 4th IATA CBTA Center Conference, held alongside the 2026 IATA World Cargo Symposium (WCS).

Selection Process
- Initiated in 2023, the CBTA Center Best Innovation Awards aim to boost operational efficiency, safety, and sustainability.
- Judging criteria included innovation, industry impact, sustainability, user-friendliness, feasibility, and evidence-based effectiveness.

This recognition underscores how AI-driven personalization is becoming central to aviation training, ensuring competence is not just assumed but demonstrated.