MONTREAL, Dec. 29, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, the
office of Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor
General of Canada,
named Captain Judy Cameron as one of the newest
appointees to the Order of Canada.
"On behalf of everyone at Air Canada, we salute and applaud Judy
on receiving Canada's highest
honour that recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the
community and service to the nation, and enriching the lives of
others while making a difference to this country. Judy has been a
trailblazer throughout her entire career, and she continues to be a
tremendous ambassador, tireless mentor and inspiration to the next
generation of female pilots. Warmest congratulations, Judy!" said
Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Executive
Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Public
Affairs.
Judy Cameron became the first
female pilot hired by Air Canada, Canada's largest airline, in April 1978 at the age of 23. She was the first
woman to graduate from Selkirk
College's Aviation Technology Program in 1975. Throughout
her flying career of 40 years and over 23,000 hours, she has flown
the DC-3, Twin Otter, Hawker Siddeley 748, DC-9, Lockheed 1011,
Airbus 320, Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 to the far corners of the
world. She became a captain in 1997 and in 2010, she became the
first female captain in Canada of
a Boeing 777, the largest aircraft in Air Canada's fleet. She
retired in 2015, received the Elsie MacGill Northern Lights award
in the Flight Operations category that year, and in 2016 she was
chosen by the 99s (International Organization of Women Pilots) to
be on its Canadian postage stamp. Today, Captain Cameron
continues her volunteer work mentoring and supporting the next
generation of female pilots with the Northern Lights Aero
Foundation.
In 2019, Air Canada proudly launched the Captain Judy Cameron
Scholarship in her honour with the goal of helping the next
generation of women follow in her trailblazing footsteps. To date,
eight scholarships have been distributed to help young women pursue
non-traditional professional aviation careers as commercial pilots
or aircraft maintenance engineers.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international
airline, and in 2019 was among the top 20 largest airlines in the
world. It is Canada's flag carrier
and a founding member of Star
Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation
network. Air Canada is the only
international network carrier in North
America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to
independent U.K. research firm Skytrax. In 2020, Air Canada was
named Global Traveler's Best Airline in North America for the second straight year. In
January 2021, Air Canada received
APEX's Diamond Status Certification for the Air Canada CleanCare+
biosafety program for managing COVID-19, the only airline in
Canada to attain the highest APEX
ranking. Air Canada has also
committed to a net zero emissions goal from all global operations
by 2050. For more information, please visit: aircanada.com/media,
follow Air Canada on Twitter and LinkedIn, and join Air Canada
on Facebook.
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