Dubai – Mubasher: International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISWAP) announced that there are around 7,409 women pilots across the world, representing only 5.2% of the total pilot workforce, according to a recent statement.
Women make up about 5% of the 53,000 members of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the world’s largest pilot union, ISWAP said.
The organisation estimates that between 3% and 6% of pilots at the world’s largest commercial airlines are women.
Representation of women on the ICAO Council is seven females out of 36 members, and it is committed to a 50-50 gender parity by 2030, the statement added.
ICAO stated that only 5.18% of pilots are female.
“Just over 5% of the commercial pilots flying worldwide are females. The Middle East’s share has not been encouraging, but things are changing,” Mervat Sultan, one of the first Arab women to obtain a flight dispatcher’s license and a co-founder and president of the Middle East chapter of Women in Aviation (WIA) International, said
However, women became more aspired and passionate to be a part of the industry, as they have transitioned from being employed as flight attendants to premier cockpit controllers, the statement noted.
Currently, almost fifth of students enrolling for a commercial flying licence in India, the world’s second-most populous country, are women, which is way higher than other countries.
The UAE has more female pilots, captains, aircraft engineers, mechanics, aircraft maintenance and air traffic controllers, compared to other nations across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Emirates Airlines employs around 27,000 women, representing 42% of the total workforce.
The Abu Dhabi-based company has the youngest Emirati female pilot operating the world’s biggest aircraft, A380.
“More than a third of the 3,770 employees at flydubai, Middle East’s fastest-growing LCC, are female with more than 1,000 female Cabin Crew members and more than 30 female Captains and First Officers,” the statement highlighted.
As for Etihad Airways, it currently employs over 2,850 Emirati women, including 50 female pilots, in addition to the first Emirati woman registered as a specialist in aviation medicine.
In the same vein, Air Arabia’s women employees include the first female Emirati holder of a multi-crew pilots (MPL) licence.
“Today, we can see an increasing number of women in aviation and aerospace, but still they are vastly under-represented. The opportunities are greater now than the past,” Sultan added.
It is worth noting that the 4th Women in Aviation (WIA) Middle East General Assembly will take place in the emirate of Dubai on 1 May alongside the 19th edition of Airport Show.
The event will focus on the growing contribution of women in aviation globally and share best practices across the world.
The sponsors of the high-profile event include Air BP, Airbus, Boeing, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), Falcon Aviation Services, Honeywell, LFV Consulting, MSI Air, Safran, Saudi Air Navigation Services, Strata, and Yahsat.
Last week, Etihad Airways announced plans to revolutionise check-in experience at the airport in collaboration with Elenium, a provider of automation technology solutions.
Both companies aim to show how they will change the way customers travel through using cloud technology, artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision, and natural human interfacing.
