[Courtesy of Jeju Air]
SEOUL -- A coincidence in flight schedule matching has created a rare scene of having an all-female flight crew including pilots on a passenger jet operated by Jeju Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier.
Despite an increasing number of female pilots in the global airline industry, South Korea's pilot society still remains male-centered, creating a stereotype that the cockpit is the male realm.
Two pilots and four cabin crew members on Jeju Air's flight 7C2205 from Incheon to Bangkok on Wednesday were all females. Jeju Air officials said the crew placement was a pure coincidence.
"There was a similar event carried out by another low-cost carrier a few years ago but we did not intend to place all females," Kim Tae-young, a Jeju Air public relations manager, told Aju News, adding it will not be a rare scene any longer as the number of female pilots is increasing in South Korea.
Jeju Air has 11 female pilots or 2.2 percent of the total number of pilots. Kim said Jeju Air's job recruiting policy is generous to women because the airline regards flight skills as the most important factor in hiring pilots.
According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots three years ago, there were about 4,000 female pilots flying commercial airplanes among about 130,000 pilots worldwide.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
