Bombardier Names Antonio Cortés as Recipient of 2020 Safety Standdown Award


  • A long-time Safety Standdown supporter, Cortés has demonstrated exceptional safety leadership throughout aviation career that spans more than 30 years
  • Influential award recognizes exceptional efforts to improve aviation safety throughout the industry

MONTREAL, Oct. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Antonio Cortés has been named the 2020 winner of the influential Bombardier Safety Standdown Award, as selected by the Safety Standdown Advisory Council members. Cortés, a Senior Advisor (U.S., Canada, South America) for GMR Aviation Consulting, is a long-time supporter of Bombardier’s Safety Standdown, delivering presentations and teaching wokshops, as well as serving as chair of the Advisory Council.

Cortés accepted the award on October 21 during the virtually presented 24th annual Bombardier Safety Standdown. This award is presented annually to an aviation professional who has demonstrated exemplary dedication to improving aviation safety through the Safety Standdown principles of learn, apply and share.

Cortés was nominated by Safety Standdown Vice Chairman Ed Coleman for his outstanding leadership in aviation safety management over the course of his more than three-decade aviation career. At GMR Aviation Consulting, he offers aviation safety management, business processes and expert witnessing to clients worldwide. Cortés has a varied aviation background as both a military and airline pilot, as well as a safety officer. His various professional roles include air safety investigator, university professor teaching and researching safety and human factors and, most recently, Director of Safety for Mitsubishi Aircraft.

“On behalf of Bombardier, I wish to congratulate Antonio Cortés for his unwavering commitment not only to Safety Standdown, but also to promoting aviation safety and professionalism at all levels of our industry,” said Andy Nureddin, Vice President, Customer Support, Bombardier Aviation. “Antonio perfectly embodies what the Safety Standdown Award stands for: celebrating individuals who are role models in the field and have made a real difference day-to-day.”

Bombardier’s Safety Standdown is one of the most comprehensive safety conferences in the industry. Due to the realities presented by COVID-19, this year’s event was held virtually, enabling more aviation professionals from around the world to take part in the event. This year’s theme, “Safety in Focus 20/20,” encourages aviation professionals and organizations to be even more aware of standards to put them on the path for a safer, more productive future. Please click here for more information on the virtual event.

About Safety Standdown
Originally conceived in 1996 as a human factors safety-training event for the Learjet flight demonstration team, the conference quickly garnered a reputation for excellence beyond Bombardier’s customer base. In 1999, in response to growing interest within the industry, Bombardier opened the seminar to all pilots. In 2010, Safety Standdown expanded beyond the seminars into a year-round global human factors program offering online resources. Since 1996, more than 10,000 corporate, commercial and military aviation professionals have attended Safety Standdown seminars around the world, live and through the webcast, including in Brazil, Canada, China, Mexico, Switzerland and the USA.

About Bombardier
With nearly 60,000 employees across two business segments, Bombardier is a global leader in the transportation industry, creating innovative and game-changing planes and trains. Our products and services provide world-class transportation experiences that set new standards in passenger comfort, energy efficiency, reliability and safety.

Headquartered in Montréal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering sites in over 25 countries across the segments of Aviation and Transportation. Bombardier shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, Bombardier posted revenues of $15.8 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.

Notes to Editors
Visit the Bombardier Business Aircraft website for more information on our industry-leading products and services. Follow @Bombardierjets on Twitter to receive the latest news and updates from
Bombardier Business Aircraft. To receive our press releases, please visit the RSS Feed section.

Bombardier, Learjet, Challenger, Global and Global 7500 are registered or unregistered trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

For information
Matthew Nicholls
Bombardier Aviation 
+1 514-243-8214
Matthew.Nicholls@aero.bombardier.com