MONTREAL — Air Canada is shining the spotlight on its Black employees and their contributions to aviation in celebration of Black History Month.

On Feb. 11, flights AC914 and AC917 flew between Toronto and Fort Lauderdale with a Black crew of two pilots and eight flight attendants. The Black History celebratory flight was also planned and supported by Black managers and employees on the ground and behind the scenes.

“We salute and acknowledge the achievements and contributions of Air Canada’s Black employees and brought forward their idea of operating today’s Black History celebratory flight,” said Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Public Affairs. “We are very pleased to champion their identity, pride and enthusiasm for this special inaugural flight to commemorate Black History Month at our airline.”

Meloul-Wechsler added that the airline is widely recognized for its diversity, culture and inclusiveness, and that it will “strive to create a workplace that employees feel proud to belong to by leaning in and listening, learning and working collaboratively to continually advance shared initiatives.”

Yolanda Cornwall, Customer Service Training Specialist – Toronto, and Claudine Martinell, Concierge and Premium Customer Excellence – USA, both members of the Air Canada Black History Month Committee, added: “We are so incredibly proud of today’s inaugural Black History celebratory flight. Not only does this demonstrate Black representation in aviation, we also want qualified Black people to know they have a place in our industry and especially at Air Canada.

“We thank Air Canada for supporting this historic flight and for working together with Air Canada’s Black employee community to further strengthen our airline’s culture.”

Air Canada has been named one of Canada’s best Diversity Employers for multiple consecutive years. Its Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR) details the airline’s diversity and community initiatives.

In its internal voluntary surveys, 387 Air Canada employees self-identified as Black and work in leadership, management, specialized professional positions, and across all work groups including pilots, flight attendants, customer service agents, maintenance technicians and ground support crews.