Still Less Than 2% of Pilots: Singapore Airlines Female Pilot Numbers Jump to 102, Increasing by 25% in Five Years

Singapore Airlines (SQ), Singapore’s national carrier, has increased the number of female pilots in its ranks by 25% over the past five years, according to data reported by The Straits Times.

Despite the headline increase, the absolute numbers reveal a starker picture. According to SIA Group’s FY2023–2024 Sustainability Report, women account for just 61 of the group’s 3,245 pilots — a share of 1.9%. The 25% increase over five years translates to a still-small cohort in a workforce dominated overwhelmingly by men.

Why Singapore Airlines Only Started Hiring Female Pilots in 2016

For much of its history, Singapore Airlines did not accept women into its cadet pilot programme. The airline began accepting female cadet pilots only in April 2016, when it recruited two women into its training intake. At the time, SIA spokesman Nicholas Ionides told The Straits Times that “we will recruit whoever is the most qualified”.

Before this milestone, women who wanted to fly commercially in Singapore often had to take alternative routes. Some, like Scoot Captain Vanessa Khaw, entered aviation via the cabin crew before self-funding flight training. Others, like Jetstar Asia (3K) Senior First Officer Lim Wen Shan, served in the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) before transitioning to commercial aviation in 2019. SIA’s subsidiaries SilkAir and Scoot had already employed female pilots before the parent carrier made its move.

The decision to open the cadet programme to women in 2016 effectively started the clock on the pipeline now delivering pilots to SIA’s flight decks. Cadet training takes two to three years before any pilot operates a commercial flight. The career path to captain at a major carrier like Singapore Airlines takes many additional years beyond that, meaning the first generation of female cadets admitted in 2016 is only now approaching senior roles.

Singapore’s Slow but Consistent Rise in Female Pilot Representation

The SIA Group’s own sustainability disclosures show a consistent — if gradual — upward trend in female pilot representation across recent reporting years:

• FY2021–2022: Women represented 1.4% of the pilot workforce
• FY2022–2023: The share rose to 1.6%
• FY2023–2024: The share reached 1.9%, or 61 women out of 3,245 pilots

This trajectory corresponds with the five-year window cited in the 25% increase figure. The growth is consistent across both SIA and Scoot.

The percentage change is real, but the low baseline means the absolute gains are modest. Going from 49 female pilots to 61 over five years, for instance, would represent a 25% increase while still leaving women a small minority in the cockpit.

How Does SIA Compare to the Rest of the World?

Singapore’s 1.9% female pilot representation lags behind several peer markets and comparable carriers:

• India: 14.4% of commercial pilots are women, according to national civil aviation statistics for 2022–2023, ranking it among the highest globally
• Australia (Qantas): Approximately 7.5% of pilots at the national carrier are women
• Jetstar Asia: Around 2% of its 128 pilots are women
• Global average (IATA): Women represent 6.2% of pilots globally, with Europe posting the highest regional share at 7%
• United States: The share of active pilot licenses held by women rose from 6.6% in 2013 to 10.3% in 2023, according to IATA data

India’s outsized representation reflects specific policy conditions. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has actively promoted gender diversity in aviation, and women accounted for nearly 18% of the 1,622 commercial pilot licenses issued in India in 2023 — a 22% increase year-on-year.

SIA’s 1.9% puts it well below not just India but also the global commercial aviation average. On a global basis, women make up 41.6% of the aviation workforce overall — but flight deck roles remain the most gender-skewed segment of the industry.

Why Female Pilot Numbers Grow Slowly in Singapore

Industry observers and pilots themselves have identified several structural factors that slow recruitment and retention of women in Singapore aviation.

Financial cost of training is consistently cited as the primary barrier. Singapore’s limited airspace means flight training must largely occur abroad. Without financial support from an airline or a military pathway, the cost of obtaining a commercial pilot license from scratch can be prohibitive. Jetstar Asia’s SFO Lim Wen Shan self-funded her commercial license conversion in the United States at a cost of around S$60,000 — the lower end of what such training can cost.

Awareness and perception gaps also play a role. Ms Mabel Kwan, vice-president of the Singapore chapter of Women in Aviation, told The Straits Times that “many young women may be unaware of the viability of pursuing a career as a pilot, or do not know enough about it to consider it as a career option.” She added that misconceptions about aviation — including concerns about safety and work-life balance — deter potential female candidates before they even investigate the profession.

The career pipeline lag compounds these issues. Because SIA only began accepting female cadet pilots in 2016, women in its workforce are concentrated in junior and mid-career ranks. Becoming a long-haul captain at Singapore Airlines requires many years of accumulated flight experience and a structured progression through second officer, first officer, and senior first officer grades. Women who joined in the first cadet intakes are only now approaching the seniority levels that attract public visibility.

Work-life balance remains a consideration unique to long-haul operations. Scoot’s Captain Khaw, who operates turnaround short-haul flights, notes that her schedule allows her to return home daily — a key factor in her ability to maintain a family life with two young children. Long-haul pilots at SIA face a different rhythm: extended absences, layovers, and irregular rest patterns. These scheduling demands create an additional barrier for women who bear disproportionate caregiving responsibilities.

The Pilots Behind the Statistics: Khaw and Lim

Two profiles published by The Straits Times and widely reported illustrate what progress looks like at a human scale.

Captain Vanessa Khaw joined Singapore Airlines as a cabin crew member in 2004. After three and a half years as a flight attendant, she quit to pursue flight training. She funded her education through personal savings and family loans, training at Singapore Flying College, and earned her commercial pilot license in 2009. She joined Tigerair in 2010 before transitioning to Scoot when the two carriers merged. Today, she flies Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft and serves as a flight instructor — one of the more senior roles in a pilot’s career progression.

Captain Khaw’s path illustrates a shift in how female pilots regard their own identity in the industry. In reporting by Asia News Network, she noted that she no longer thinks of herself as a “female pilot” — she is simply a pilot. “Whether you’re male or female, you still have to meet the standards,” she said. On International Women’s Day, 8 March 2025, she operated a flight from Singapore to Chiang Mai where all key personnel — from pilots to cabin crew, immigration officers, and security staff — were women.

Senior First Officer Lim Wen Shan took a different route. She flew C-130 military transport aircraft for the Republic of Singapore Air Force for 14 years before transitioning to commercial aviation in 2019. With an RSAF retirement age of 50, she converted her military license to a commercial one in the United States and now flies Airbus A320 aircraft with Jetstar Asia. In December 2024, nearly 20 years after earning her wings, she flew her mother on a commercial flight she operated — something her military role never permitted.

The Global Context: IATA’s 25by2025 Initiative

SIA’s progress on female pilots aligns with — and partly reflects — a broader industry-wide effort. In 2019, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched its 25by2025 initiative, asking member organisations to increase female representation by 25%, or to a minimum 25% share, across senior roles and historically male-dominated areas by 2025.

By 2024, the initiative had attracted 216 participating organisations. Women accounted for 41.6% of the global aviation workforce across IATA’s 142 reporting signatories. However, the flight deck remains the least diverse segment. Globally, women represent just 6.2% of commercial pilots, and even this figure masks significant regional variation.

The structural solution IATA and independent researchers converge on is a package of measures:

• Scholarships and funding pathways to lower the financial barrier to flight training
• Targeted cadet outreach programmes aimed at young women, particularly at the secondary school level
• Mentorship structures connecting aspiring female pilots with women already working in the sector
• Flexible rostering options that better accommodate caregiving responsibilities
• Visibility campaigns that normalise women in command roles across media and public life

IATA noted in its 2024 gender report that when the 25by2025 initiative launched in 2019, only three IATA member airlines had female CEOs, and it was estimated that just 19% of senior roles were held by women. By 2022, that share had risen to 28%, with 28 female CEOs across the sector. IATA’s airlines that have signed the pledge added 1,000 new women pilots in 2022 alone.

Singapore Airlines has not been identified in public reporting as a formal 25by2025 signatory, but the data it discloses in its own sustainability reporting closely mirrors the metrics the initiative tracks.

What Next for Female Pilots at Singapore Airlines?

The 25% increase over five years is genuine, but the context matters. Starting from a near-zero baseline — SIA admitted its first female cadets only in 2016 — percentage increases will look impressive while absolute numbers remain small. The real test of SIA’s commitment to gender diversity will come when the cadets recruited in the 2016–2020 window begin progressing to senior first officer and captain roles.

The SIA Group’s FY2024/25 Sustainability Report, published in June 2025, reflects record revenue and net profit for the airline — providing the financial headroom to invest in workforce development, outreach, and structural changes to the pilot pipeline. Whether the group translates that capacity into accelerated female pilot recruitment will determine whether the 25% headline figure represents a trend or a plateau.

Captain Khaw’s two daughters, aged seven and nine at the time of reporting, both say they want to be pilots. Whether the industry they grow up into makes that ambition easy or hard to pursue will depend on the decisions SIA and its peers make in the years ahead.