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The objective of the challenge is simple: be the most profitable airline!
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Step into the cockpit of strategy! The Airline Management Challenge brings together teams from universities worldwide to compete in a high-stakes business simulation. Using IATA’s Air Mercury busines simulation tool, each team will run its own virtual airline—making critical decisions on network planning, fleet selection, scheduling, pricing, ancillary services, distribution, and marketing. It’s not just about beating the computer; it’s about outsmarting rival teams and proving you have what it takes to soar above the competition.
To welcome even more universities into the competition, the Airline Management Challenge is now a thrilling two-tier event! It all starts with regional showdowns, where up to eight universities battle for supremacy. The champions from each region advance to the grand finale—a high-stakes clash to determine who will be crowned the 2026 Airline Management Challenge winner. Will your team rise to the top?
Who can join the Challenge?
- University students currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate aviation program who want to put their knowledge to the test.
- Recent graduates (Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D.) within the last two years, ready to showcase their skills in a real-world industry simulation.
The structure of the Challenge?
As part of a team, you will run a virtual airline, create your business strategy, make all the decisions, and compete against other teams. The objective of this challenge is to be the most profitable airline. All teams will compete against each other using the same scenario. Teams will make decisions on fleet, schedule, network, revenue, and distribution and marketing. The scenario will be revealed to all participating teams at the end of the initial training session organized by IATA.
The regional competition unfolds across three strategic rounds, each representing one full calendar year of decision-making. At the end of every round, teams will see the results of their choices — profit or loss — with one clear objective: finish the three rounds with the highest accumulated profit to become the regional winner.
From there, the challenge intensifies. Regional champions advance to the final stage, where they will compete in two additional rounds to determine the 2026 Airline Management Challenge winner. Importantly, only the results of these two final rounds will decide the overall champion.
The 2025 teams share their experiences of the Challenge
In 2025, we had two winning teams from the East and West regions.
East Winner: Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences
We spoke with Lina Nordman, who shared her experience and thoughts on the Challenge.
West Winner: Delft University of Technology
Two team members, Tymon van Dijk and Alexander Entchev, talked to us about their journey and what they learned.
East – Second Place: University of Southern Queensland
We also heard from Nathalie Kylle Pagulayan, who gave us her perspective on the Challenge and the skills she gained.
How can YOU participate?
- Each university can enter one team in the Airline Management Challenge — making every spot on that team count. Teams must include at least 4 students and can go up to a maximum of 10 students, ensuring a strong mix of ideas, skills, and perspectives. Universities are encouraged to provide general guidance and support, but all strategic decisions must be made by the students. This keeps the competition fair, authentic, and truly centered on learning through real-world decision-making.
- To participate, both the university and each student must sign the form agreeing to the Terms and Conditions of the Challenge, including permission for IATA to mention the university and team members in our communications. It’s all about celebrating your achievements!
Every student who takes part in the Airline Management Challenge will receive an official certificate recognizing their achievement at the end of the competition.
The winning team will earn an exclusive invitation to an IATA event, and each team member will also get to choose and complete an IATA Management Self-Study course — a valuable boost for any aviation career.
Throughout the challenge, IATA will share regular updates on social media, including spotlight posts celebrating the league winners and the overall challenge champions. Students and universities are encouraged to join the conversation and share their journey referencing the IATA Management Challenge.
Airline Management Challenge 2026 Schedule
Below you can find the tentative timeline for the 2026 edition. Minor changes may have to be made for operational reasons, which will be communicated well in advance.
| Date | Event |
| Friday 27 March | Opening session |
| Friday 10 April | Q&A session |
| Wednesday 15 April | Due date: Input test run |
| Friday 17 April | Session: Results test run |
| Wednesday 22 April | Due date: Input run #1 |
| Friday 24 April | Session: Results run #1 |
| Wednesday 29 April | Due date: Input run #2 |
| Friday 1 May | Session: Results run #2 |
| Wednesday 6 May | Due date: Input run #3 |
| Friday 8 May | Regional Leagues Award Ceremony |
| Wednesday 20 May | Due date: Input Final #1 |
| Friday 22 May | Session: Results Final #1 |
| Wednesday 27 May | Due date: Input Final #2 |
| Friday 29 May | Closing ceremony |
Every student needs to complete the form.
Need Help?
- For the challenge, IATA will provide a Teams platform for collaboration and communication.
- All virtual sessions will be hosted in Zoom or Teams, details on how to connect will be provided. All sessions will be recorded, and all the teams will be given access to these recordings.
- The IATA Air Mercury simulator is online and optimized for access via laptop or desktop. It does not require any installation. The simulator may also be accessed via mobile devices.
- The participants will receive a business case, explaining the background of the simulator scenario, detailed data including cost information, historic demand and fare levels and competition data. The participants will also receive a copy of the Air Mercury Simulator manual.
- The reports for each of the rounds can be downloaded from the simulator into excel for ease of evaluation.
- Each round will take a week; the teams will need to have their input completed by Wednesday, the results will be available by Friday, which gives the teams 5 days to analyze the results and complete their input for the next run.
- Note that the simulator is available 24/7, so the students may access and complete their input in their own time, they only make sure that the input is complete at the set deadline, providing maximum flexibility for students to participate in the challenge alongside their university tasks.
- All sessions will take place at 2 different times to accommodate different time zones. Participation is not mandatory, but highly recommended.
- During the sessions, IATA will offer mini lectures on airline management topics related to the Airline Management Challenge, provide additional insights into the simulation results and offer the opportunity for teams to ask questions.
- Teams may also contact us via Teams if there are any questions or doubts in between the sessions.
Participation is completely free of charge for both the university and the students.
2026 Airline Management Challenge
Terms & Conditions
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
GENERAL INFORMATION
1. Information on how to enter the 2026 IATA Airline Management Challenge (the “Competition”) and the prize details form part of these terms and conditions of entry (the “Terms and Conditions”). Entry into the Competition is deemed acceptance of these Terms and Conditions. Entries not in accordance with these Terms and Conditions are deemed ineligible.
2. The Sponsor of the Competition is the International Air Transport Association (“IATA” or the “Sponsor”), having its Head Office at 800 Place Victoria, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4Z 1M1 and its Executive Office at 33, route de l'Aéroport, P.O. Box 416 CH-1215 Geneva 15 Airport, Switzerland.
3. In addition to the specific requirements set out in these Terms and Conditions, the Competition is comprised of two parts:
a. The Initial Application Process (see part A below); and
b. The Competition (see part B below).
Entrants must comply with each part of the Competition and the Terms and Conditions in order to be eligible to receive any of the prizes referred to in the Terms and Conditions.
4. The IATA Airline Management Challenge is an exclusively skill-based competition without any element of chance. No purchase is required to enter or win the Competition.
PART A
Eligibility of Entry and the Initial Registration Process
5. Entry is open only to individuals (Entrants) who submit an application during the Eligibility Period (between 09:00am (UTC) on Wednesday 26 November 2025 and to 06:00pm (UTC) on Saturday 31 January 2026) and who at the time of entry are eighteen (18) years of age or older, and university students or within 24 months of higher education completion.
6. Details of the 2026 IATA Airline Management Challenge are accessible on the IATA Airline Management Challenge Website.
7. Entrants may only enter the Competition as a team.
8. To enter the Competition, Entrants must:
a. Submit the submission form:
• Each Entrant must submit a completed submission form (all fields are obligatory) available on the IATA Airline Management Challenge Website.
o Only one Entrant from the same team can choose “Team Lead” as their Team Role. It is the responsibility of entrants from one team to decide the Team Roles among themselves.
o One team can consist of a minimum of 4, and a maximum of 10 Entrants.
b. Share a link to a 2-3 minute video in English, in which the Entrants (as a team) shall provide information on his/her education background, and present motivations on entering the Challenge.
c. Agreeing to be subject to these Terms and Conditions by ticking the “I Agree” box on the application form.
9. Entrants are responsible for ensuring that their contact details submitted to IATA are correct. Entrants forfeit their right to claim prizes in the event that their contact details are inaccurate or incomplete.
Entry into the Competition
10. To enter the Competition, Entrants must follow the application instructions and provide all the required documents described in the enclosed document. Submissions not following the application instructions may not be accepted.
PART B
Order of play
11. The Competition will consist of 3 rounds of simulation on IATA’s Airline Management simulation platform.
12. Each team will enter their imputs into the simulation platform before the closure date of each round.
13. The platform will run the simulation after the closure date of each week, and IATA will reveal the standings of each Team after each round of simulation. The standings will be automatically determined by the simulation platform based on the criterium of profitability.
14. The Team which will rank first by the simulation platform after round 3 will be the winning team.
Prizes and presentation
15. Presentation at a conference:
a. The winning team will receive four free passes to an IATA Conference in 2026, where the team will be able to present the results of their participation in the competition.
b. IATA reserves the right to cancel the presentation should the quality be deemed insufficient; and/or not compliant with competition rules.
General
16. IATA reserves the right to verify the validity of entries and to disqualify any Entrant who tampers with the entry process or who submits an entry that is not in accordance with the Terms and Conditions. IATA will not accept any late or misdirected entries.
17. IATA reserves to the right to cancel the Competition.
18. IATA’s decision in relation to any and all aspects of the Competition is final and binding on every person who enters, and no correspondence will be entered into.
19. Disqualification of any individual who IATA has reason to believe has breached any of the Terms and Conditions or engaged in any unlawful or other improper misconduct calculated to jeopardize the fair and proper conduct of the Competition, is at IATA’s discretion.
20. IATA is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer or online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site, delay or error in postal service or any combination thereof, including but not limited to any injury or damage to Eligible Entrants' or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation in or down-loading any materials in this Competition. IATA is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, either caused by the phone user or for any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this Competition, or for any technical error, or any combination thereof that may occur in the course of the administration of this Competition including any omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line or telephone, mobile or satellite network failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alteration of entries.
21. If for any reason this Competition is not capable of running as planned, including but not limited to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of IATA which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Competition, the IATA reserves the right, subject to any written directions given under applicable law, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition. IATA reserves all rights to recover damages and/or other compensation as may be deemed appropriate from such an offender.
22. In the event of war, terrorism, a state of emergency or a disaster, IATA reserves the right (subject to any written directions under applicable law) to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition. IATA may also refuse entry into the competition to any individual or company subject to economic sanctions which would violate IATA’s legal obligations.
23. This Competition is subject to all applicable U.S. federal, state and local laws.
24. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: IATA, ITS AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL AGENCIES, ANY INTERNET OR ON-LINE ACCESS PROVIDERS OR ANY OF THEIR EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, AND AGENTS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY AND SHALL BE HELD HARMLESS BY ENTRANT FOR ANY DAMAGE, LOSS OR LIABILITY TO PERSON OR PROPERTY, DUE IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, BY REASON OF ENTERING THE COMPETITION, THE ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, USE OR MISUSE OF ANY PRIZE, OR WHILE PREPARING FOR, OR PARTICIPATING IN ANY PRIZE-RELATED ACTIVITY. Any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Competition, but in no event, attorneys' fees. IATA and its promotion and advertising agencies are not responsible for technical, hardware, software or telephone failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, fraud, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions, whether caused by the IATA, users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Competition or by any technical or human error which may occur in the processing of submissions which may damage a user's system or limit a participant's ability to participate in the Competition.
25. This Competition will be governed by the laws of New York. All finalists of the Competition will be announced on the IATA website.
