The story of the day: the aviation industry viewed from the outside by Francesca Hinton.
Francesca Hinton is a senior consultant at Lexington Communications in London, advising a range of aviation clients.
Below are some thoughts presented by Francesca Hinton, which works tangentially with aviation, but not directly. And that gives him another aviation experience, but from the outside.
"If you mention in passing to a friend that you work in aviation, a lot of images come to mind - maybe that of a pilot, a cabin crew member or maybe even a check-in assistant. This is, of course, natural because they are the people that everyone sees when they pass through an airport or travel by plane.
No doubt this was the first image in my mind about the industry at the age of 19, first boarding a plane when I went abroad to university. Only later, at my own job, did I see that the reality is different, with the different roles needed to keep this incredible industry running.
I work in communication and public affairs for UK airlines and a major London airport. As a consultant I had to collaborate with countless people who have different roles, but necessary to maintain day-to-day operations. After all, the aviation industry is the third largest market globally.
Less than 5% of UK pilots were women.
Whether they are air traffic controllers who carefully steer aircraft with exact efficiency, press officers who maintain their strength in a crisis, or officers who work to ensure that everything is done to the highest standards, every role is essential in this industry.
Perhaps the greatest experience of getting to know the sector in more depth was, however, an invitation I received to work with a group representing women in aviation and, in particular, the ambitions to see greater parity. gender in roles at higher levels. The Women's Aviation Charter was a commitment from the industry to overturn key statistics that suggested that less than 5% of UK pilots were women.
Working with this incredible group of people, I participated in the incredible campaigns organized in the industry by the airlines - whether it was the "FlyShe" campaign to get more educational materials in schools or the Amy Johnson initiative of EasyJet to recruit more women- pilots - and I noticed the passion of the people working in this sector.
Looking ahead, the pandemic has undoubtedly brought incredible challenges to this industry, but the ambitions that existed before the crisis, an inclusive workforce and a sustainable future remain stronger than ever."