Pilot returns north to spread a love for aviation

At the age of 20, Jamie MacDonald was flying Buffalo Airways’ World War Two aircraft up and down the Northwest Territories.

Seven years later, she now flies for WestJet – and she’s heading back to Yellowknife at the end of this month to inspire the next generation.

Elevate Aviation, a charity formed in 2015, works to help women and under-represented groups thrive in careers related to flight and aircraft.

The group has been to Yellowknife before, and MacDonald is helping to lead its latest NWT event on Thursday, May 30 at the city’s Air Tindi hangar on Berry Street.

From 9am till 3pm, you’ll hear guest speakers from different areas of aviation before receiving a behind-the-scenes tour. The event is free and you can register online.

MacDonald said anyone can attend, though older youth might get more from the event as it’s geared toward people who are reaching the point of making career choices. “But we don’t exclude anybody,” she said.

MacDonald says she first set foot in an aircraft at the age of 18 and did most of her training aged 19 through an accelerated program. Other options include taking a self-paced program, where you learn as time and money allows, or heading to university to earn a four-year degree.

After just over three years at Buffalo, MacDonald flew for Canadian North before joining Swoop, the low-cost airline that was merged into WestJet. She has been part of the WestJet group since mid-2022.

“Flying with WestJet has definitely broadened my horizons to checking out Canada, the US and the Caribbean,” said MacDonald, now 27.

“You can often in the winter find me in St Lucia, and in the summer I’m bouncing around Canada and the US. This month, I’m going across the pond for the first time, and I’ll be going to Dublin – so I’m super excited for that.”

Canada has a pilot shortage and is also in need of people to work as aircraft maintenance engineers and flight attendants, she said, meaning there are many opportunities for people to break into the industry.

“It’s everything I thought it would be plus more. I’ve met so many amazing people, I’ve been to so many amazing places, it’s really opened doors to doing cool things,” MacDonald said of her life in aviation to date.

“Part of that is I fly an old World War Two aeroplane called the Harvard, that was basically a trainer for the Spitfires, the Hurricanes and the Mustangs. I’ve just started to dip my toes into that – I should be fully qualified in the next month or so to be able to fly that, to take passengers.

“Flying has been such an opportunity that has led me to do so many cool things, and to be part of such an amazing group – and just to spread the love of it. People say you don’t work a day in your life if you enjoy your job.”