Alaska Airlines & UM Eastern Shore Team Up To Make Airline Piloting More Diverse
SALISBURY, Md. (WJZ) -- The University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Alaska Airlines have partnered to try to get more students of color in the cockpit.
Last fall, a group of Black pilots at the airline created the True North program, which provides financial assistance to BIPOC undergraduate students who are interested in becoming commercial airline pilots.
According to a 2020 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, about 3.9 percent of airline pilots and flight engineers are Black.
The program pays for flight training for two upperclassmen enrolled in the historically black college's aviation science program and provides up to $50,000.
"Typically, that's the barrier of entry to the airline is getting all the way through flight training," UMES Chief Flight Instructor and Clinical Assistant Professor Edward Brink said.
Students selected by Alaska Airlines for the program will move on to become flight instructors after finishing their degree. Participants then move on to guaranteed jobs at Horizon Airlines, Alaska Air Group's regional carrier, which later lead to a position at Alaska Airlines.
Students in the True North program must stay with Alaska Air Group for five years.
Alaska Airlines Captain JP Wilson said that the program is a way to show students of color that a path to a career in flying is possible.
"I grew up in Baltimore City in Liberty Heights and it was just difficult to get out of that community to see anything outside of that," Wilson said. "And so going to these communities and showing that you can get outside of these communities and there is a lot of opportunity available is really important."
The program is still in its infancy and is only available at one other HBCU now, Delaware State University.
Junior Farah Mitchell told WJZ that she plans to apply for the program.
"I love flying. I enjoy being up here," said Mitchell. "The more you come up the more fun it gets."
She believes that her participation in the program may inspire other people of color to consider a career as a pilot.
"I think it inspires people to do things that are different," Mitchell said. "I work at a pool and I tell the kids that I'm flying and they're like 'Oh that's cool," and then it kind of gets them interested in doing it."
