A pilot who achieved the rank of captain at BermudAir says more local women are showing an interest in flying.

Thays Emilly Silva, the airline’s only female pilot, said she and her colleagues had been contacted by women on the island keen to start piloting careers.

She told The Royal Gazette: “It is nice to see the women showing interest — and it is also nice for the Bermuda community.

“While there is not a Bermudian female as pilot at the airline as yet, it is possible for it to happen.

“The airline just hired a male pilot who is Bermudian, so the women can do the same.”

Ms Silva, who joined BermudAir in May 2023 as its first pilot hire, is also the first to complete the command upgrade process at the airline.

Originally from Brazil, she earned her commercial pilot licences at home and in Florida before flying for six years at one of Brazil’s major carriers, Azul Linhas Aéreas.

She told the Gazette that she believed there were good chances for female Bermudians to advance in the field.

“They have all the support here in Bermuda, so I think there is an opportunity globally for women to be pilots or to get into aviation,” she said.

Still in her early thirties, Ms Silva said that when she entered the field of aviation as a teenager back home, she never dreamt of attaining the rank of captain early in her career.

She said she reminded her mother recently of a pilot who became a captain in his thirties while she was growing up.

They shared a laugh when they realised that she became a captain at a similar age.

Ms Silva’s duties and responsibilities behind the controls remain largely the same as that from when she was a first officer.

She added: “What changes is the management role. I have to be responsible for the crew, the passengers and cargo and also final decisions in flight.

“You have to expand your situational awareness, your ability of decision-making and problem-solving because we are always solving problems in the air.”

Ms Silva said she had learnt much from networking with other pilots and staff of different nationalities at BermudAir.

“You learn from them how to be tolerant, how to be more patient and you build yourself better that way,” she said.

She said adjusting to life on the island had not proved a challenge, since she had grown up independent — something she mastered early after leaving school to pursue her piloting dreams.

“I lived in a lot of different places, so for me it was not like a big deal because I was already prepared to get past that,” she added.

She said that starting with BermudAir proved exciting in a smaller but new environment.

She said: “You feel part of a team and you think that there is an opportunity for you to upgrade.

“The confidence that the people have for you, that is always a nice thing to build with.”

Ms Silva said that since flight school, she had felt the “weight” as a woman in a male-dominated environment.

She recalled occasions in Brazil when she left the cockpit with the other pilots to greet disembarking passengers and found herself taken aback by some of their comments.

She explained: “You feel like, as a woman, you always have to prove more and that is so because it is only about 4 per cent of women as pilots in the world.”

At BermudAir, she said she received plenty of support and respect from her colleagues.

She added: “I always try to push myself a lot and maintain the basics like confidence and having respect for everyone.”

Ms Silva put many hours into flying the Embraer 190 and Embraer 195 models of aircraft back in Brazil — but had no difficulty taking to BermudAir’s models.

“I had to adjust to the company procedures and the airport here in Bermuda because there is plenty of crosswind here in the winter,” she added.

Outside the cockpit, Ms Silva said it brought joy to her heart to encounter female air traffic controllers.

She said: “There is a space for everybody in aviation — we are capable of doing the same things both as males and females.”