SINGAPORE- Captain Vanessa Khaw, once a cabin crew member at Singapore Airlines (SQ), is now a seasoned pilot and instructor at Scoot (TR).
Her journey began with cockpit visits while serving on flights departing from Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), where she admired sunrises that sparked her ambition to fly.
Today, she is among the 61 female pilots at Scoot and Singapore Airlines, representing only 1.9% of the SIA Group’s 3,245-strong pilot workforce.
Her story, along with others like Jetstar Asia’s (3K) SFO Lim Wen Shan, highlights the challenges and progress of women in Singapore’s male-dominated aviation sector.
Photo: Scoot Air (First Pilot from the right)Journey from Cabin to Cockpit
Captain Vanessa Khaw’s aviation journey began in 2004 when she was a flight attendant at Singapore Airlines (SQ).
After three and a half years in the cabin, inspired by sunrises from the cockpit, she quit to pursue flying full-time.
According to The Straits Times, she trained at Singapore Flying College, earned her commercial pilot license (CPL) in 2009, and joined Tigerair in 2010. When Tigerair merged with Scoot (TR), she continued flying Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft and recently advanced to the role of flight instructor.
Becoming a pilot was not easy. Khaw faced family opposition, financial pressure, and multiple airline rejections.
Yet, through personal savings and family loans, she funded her training and broke into the field.
Her determination paid off. Today, she mentors new cadets at Scoot and serves as a role model for aspiring aviators.
She emphasizes that expectations in the cockpit are gender-neutral. “Whether you’re male or female, you still have to meet the standards,” she says.
She also appreciates being home daily after short-haul regional flights, spending time with her two daughters—both of whom dream of becoming pilots.
Photo: Scoot AirRising Presence of Female Pilots
Women constitute 1.9% of the 3,245 pilots at SIA Group, including Singapore Airlines (SQ) and Scoot (TR), as per the 2023–2024 Sustainability Report.
This marks a slight increase from 1.6% in 2022–2023 and 1.4% in 2021–2022, aligning closely with Jetstar Asia (3K), where 2% of 128 pilots are women.
Globally, Singapore lags behind countries like India, with 14.4% female pilots (2022–2023), and Qantas (QF) in Australia, at 7.5%.
Mabel Kwan, vice-president of the Singapore chapter of Women in Aviation, attributes the slower growth to limited awareness among young women about aviation careers and misconceptions about flying’s dangers or lack of work-life balance.
Collaborative initiatives, such as airline partnerships and storytelling campaigns, could boost interest.
Khaw, who no longer identifies as a “female pilot” but simply a pilot, notes that the same standards apply to all.
She connects with other women pilots via an all-female chat group at Scoot, reflecting a growing community.
Photo: Steven Byles | Wikimedia CommonsOvercoming Barriers to Entry
Becoming a pilot in Singapore involves significant challenges, particularly for women. High training costs, often six figures, pose a financial barrier for those without airline sponsorship or military backing.
Singapore’s limited airspace requires aspiring pilots to train abroad, such as in Australia or the US, adding to expenses.
Historically, opportunities were restricted; SIA only began accepting female cadet pilots in 2016.
Khaw’s journey included part-time private pilot lessons in Johor Bahru and self-funded training, while facing societal biases.
Photo: By BriYYZ from Toronto, Canada – Jetstar Boeing 787-8 VH-VKA, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68188859From RSAF to Jetstar Asia: Another Aviation Story
Jetstar Asia’s Senior First Officer Lim Wen Shan began flying in the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), piloting C-130 military aircraft for 14 years.
With a retirement age of 50 in the Air Force, she transitioned to commercial flying in 2019 and now flies Airbus A320 aircraft with Jetstar Asia.
She self-funded her commercial license conversion in the US at a cost of around S$60,000, a less expensive path compared to cadet training from scratch.
At the time, female cadets were not accepted at Singapore Airlines, which only began doing so in 2016.
SFO Lim highlights the cost and accessibility barriers in Singapore, where limited airspace means pilot trainees often need to go abroad.
Female representation in her era was rare, but she’s since seen more women join subsequent RSAF batches.
A highlight of her commercial career came in December 2024, when she flew her mother to Wuxi, China, a first, as her military role never allowed civilian passengers.
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