The award is part of the airport’s ‘Women in Aviation Programme’ – a three-month education programme involving up to 300 young women from ten schools across east London.
From Woodbridge High School, Redbridge, the winning group demonstrated innovative ideas on how to make London City Airport more sustainable using alternative fuels and architectural design of the airport’s terminal. Plashet School in Newham were runners up in the competition.
The students were joined by role models from across the industry who gave career talks, and in some cases also sat on the judging panel. The panel included Honor Puciato, an aviation ambassador from the Department for Transport’s Generation Aviation programme; Claire O’Toole, analytics and insights manager, British Airways CityFlyer; and Marie-Louise Phillipe, VP sales and marketing for Europe & Central Asia, Embraer.
Anne Doyere, aviation director at London City Airport, said: “It was wonderful to see how engaged the students were throughout the programme and in finding solutions to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing our sector.
“There is still so much work to be done to encourage more young women to pursue careers in the aviation sector and we hope our Women in Aviation programme continues to play a role in supporting this mission.”
The aim of the programme is to showcase how Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects can provide solutions to the challenges facing the aviation sector and encourage more local, young women into careers in the sector.
The Women in Aviation programme, delivered by Inspire (formerly known as 15billionebp) is part of the airport’s wider programme to create a better gender balance across the business and show how the sector offers an attractive career path for young women, including those from BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) communities.
London City Airport is one of the London Borough of Newham’s largest single-site employers. Over two thirds of the airport’s workforce live within five miles of the airport from its location in the heart of London’s Royal Docks.
