The Aviation Press Club (Belgium) was founded in December 1973 by a handful of journalists fascinated by the power of flight. The object was to create a dedicated forum for contact with all players in the aviation industry.
Presently, the APC counts 19 members working for different media: print, broadcast media and the news agencies. We have journalists writing for general interest newspapers as well as for specialized publications, most of them work for Belgian organizations but foreign press is also present. We are politically non-aligned. To qualify for membership, applicants must demonstrate they have knowledge of the airline industry and respect the deontological codes of the profession. Two members of the APC must sponsor applicants and candidate members only gain full membership after majority vote by the existing members.
The APC is the first port of contact between aviation journalists and the industry – airlines, airports, manufactures, service providers, associations, ministry of transport, public relations companies, … We organize regular information briefings exclusive to our members and keep a diary of all industry related press conferences and events to avoid overlaps.
Luk De Wilde
president
In 1989, the APC launched the Man of the Year Award/Woman of the Year Award, to reward a person who performed a remarkable job in the industry, in Belgium or Luxembourg, over the former year and at the same time contributed to 'smooth' communications with the press. The award can also go to a communications manager who excelled in maintaining good contacts with journalists.
The Man of the Year/Woman of the Year is selected by the APC's members after an intensive consultative and voting process. The Awards ceremony is the yearly get-together of the industry, its spokespersons and aviation journalists.