CAE announced today at the Farnborough International Airshow 2022 that it is relaunching its Women in Flight scholarship program and expanding its reach with airline partners to create a movement that encourages young women to pursue a career as a commercial pilot.

As a global partner, easyJet has once again pledged its support for Women in Flight as the first airline to sign on for the 2022 program. easyJet will provide one European candidate access to their first employment opportunity and CAE will fund pilot training for the successful candidate.

"The Women in Flight program demonstrates to young women that being a pilot is achievable and a wonderful profession," said Nick Leontidis, CAE's Group President, Civil Aviation. "Six women have already benefitted from the Women in Flight program since it was inaugurated in 2018, and with easyJet's continued support, the dreams of aspiring female pilots are one step closer to becoming reality."

"easyJet has long championed greater diversity across our business and the industry and we will continue to focus on challenging gendered stereotypes. Having doubled the number of female pilots flying with us in recent years, we are proud to have made progress, but we know there is still work to do. That's why we are delighted to be part of CAE's Women in Flight Scholarship once again," said easyJet's Chief Operating Officer David Morgan.

"We're pleased to see our first Women in Flight recipient, Georgina Thomas-Watson, currently completing her line training with us and look forward to another future easyJet pilot follow in her footsteps in 2022."

Currently, women make up only five percent of professional pilots and cadets in training worldwide. CAE is committed to the advancement of women in aviation to broaden the civil aviation talent pool. With the current pilot shortage and 260,000 new pilots needed over the next 10 years, the industry must take concrete action to attract more women to aviation.

To generate real change, the Women in Flight program will build a network of ambassadors, including Women in Flight recipients to share their stories and experiences with other women at events, within their communities, and on social media. The program will also create and share content about being a pilot that will allow the community to grow and reach girls who will one day fly aircraft.