LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Local aviation leaders are opening hangar doors to get local kids excited about careers in the aviation industry.
The Women in Aviation Las Vegas chapter hosts its annual event every third Saturday in September.
During the event, kids ages 8 to 18 climb around planes and meet people who work in the industry.
Organizers say they want girls and boys to see there is more than just being a pilot, from engineers and mechanics to dispatchers and air traffic controllers.
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They are also trying to fill a major worker shortage across the industry, including a projected shortfall of more than 15,000 pilots as older flyers retire.
“So there’s a huge demand, and it’s a field that people don’t necessarily hear about,” said Michelle Miller of the Women in Aviation Las Vegas chapter.
“We’re trying to light that spark in the next generation at an earlier age,” Miller said.
Miller said the event is a labor of love, with MGM opening its hangar and community sponsors stepping up.
She pointed to one girl who came five years ago, discovered air traffic control and is now working as a controller. Miller called it a sign that one day around airplanes can change a life.
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