WAI's 12th Annual Girls in Aviation Day Set for September 19 with 200+ Events and 34,500 Expected Attendees
Why It MattersAviation workforce outreach increasingly relies on recurring, mentor-led public events to build long-term interest in career pipelines rather than one-off recruitment pushes.
What happened
Women in Aviation International (WAI) will hold its 12th annual International Girls in Aviation Day (GIAD) on September 19, with more than 200 events planned at airports, FBOs, museums, and hangars across the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The organization expects more than 34,500 attendees, including 131 events in the U.S. and its territories and 70 events across 27 countries outside the U.S.
The program pairs participants with female mentors and provides access to career-focused discussions and guided tours of aircraft and airport facilities. This year's programming includes a sectional chart scavenger hunt, hands-on flight planning, a tailwheel-airplane build, an in-flight safety briefing, and a maintenance-technician-led look at aircraft engines and avionics. WAI CEO Lynda Coffman said, "Every year, Girls in Aviation Day opens more doors and sparks more curiosity in the next generation of aviators."
GIAD launched in 2015 with 32 events and 3,200 participants. Last year's program brought together more than 40,000 participants at 200 events spanning 34 countries.
Industry impact & what to watch
This event belongs to a broader category of industry-run outreach programs that try to widen the pipeline into aviation and aerospace careers by pairing hands-on exposure with mentorship rather than classroom recruiting alone. Airports, FBOs, and museums serving as venues shows how the event depends on facilities donating time, space, and staff rather than on a centralized training budget.
The event's own scale history is the clearest available benchmark: from 32 events and 3,200 participants at launch to 200 events and more than 40,000 participants last year, before this year's plan of over 200 events and roughly 34,500 expected attendees. Whether this year's turnout matches or falls short of last year's count will be the simplest signal of whether the program's growth has plateaued or is still expanding into new countries and venues.
