by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:35 AM ET, Fri September 30, 2022
Delta Air Lines recently launched its sixth annual WING Flight in honor of International Girls in Aviation Day after a two-year pause during the pandemic.
The carrier hosted 130 girls ages 12-18 on a flight piloted, staffed and crewed entirely by women, including the pilots, flight attendant crew, dispatcher, TSA, gate and ramp agents. The girls flew on a Boeing 737 from Atlanta to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Orlando.
On the ground at Kennedy Space Center, students engaged with NASA leaders through the 'Women in STEM' panel discussion and tours of the Apollo/Saturn V Center, which featured interactive space exhibits and a live look at the largest rocket ever flown, the Saturn V.
"Getting the best talent for Delta -- especially from underrepresented groups -- starts early," Delta General Manager and WING Flight co-founder Beth Poole said. "This is an opportunity to introduce young women to career opportunities from dispatch to flight deck and everything in between."
Founded in 2015, WING Flight is spearheaded by Delta's Flight Operations, drawing inspiration from a longstanding partnership with Women in Aviation International. Since its inception, Delta has cultivated partnerships with schools and community organizations across the country that facilitate STEM and aviation education programs.
Currently, 40 percent of Delta's total workforce is made up of women, with six percent of pilots, 17 percent of ramp agents and nine percent of Tech Ops employees being women, all an increase from 2020 numbers.
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