Women of Aviation Worldwide Week set to soar

Women of Aviation Worldwide Week offers opportunities for women to visit airports; aerospace factories; and control towers in America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

“They will meet women who chose a career in the industry, learn about past women of aviation’s contributions, visit various work environments, and try some of the activities, hands-on, including flying in small aircraft at some locations,” the organization said in a press release.

The annual event coincides with the anniversary of the first woman earning a pilot certificate—Raymonde de Laroche on March 8, 1910.

Official Women of Aviation Worldwide Week events are scheduled at Del Sol Aviation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 6; the Airbus Assembly Plant  in Mobile, Alabama, on March 8; Louisiana Regional Airport in Gonzales, Louisiana, on March 9; and Glacier Air in Squamish, British Columbia, on March 11. More than 8,000 women and girls are expected to attend the event in Albuquerque, and more than 50,000 are expected to take part in the week worldwide.

The event organizer, Institute for Women of Aviation Worldwide, will give away $15,000 in awards and scholarships. The organization said it has helped 140,000 girls and women learn about careers and hobbies in aviation and given 30,074 flights since the first event in 2010.