Photo – AAR celebrates 2025 Oklahoma Women in Aviation and Aerospace Day in Oklahoma City on December 12, 2025.
AAR CORP. hosted Oklahoma Department of Aerospace & Aeronautics’ 2025 Oklahoma Women in Aviation and Aerospace Day and celebrated 100 years of aviation in Oklahoma at the Company’s newly constructed Airframe MRO Hangar 4. The new hangar is part of AAR’s expansion in Oklahoma City and is expected to become operational in early 2026.
As part of a collaborative effort between JE Dunn, Oklahoma City Airport Trust, Oklahoma Airport Operators Association, and the Oklahoma Aerospace Foundation, Oklahoma Women in Aviation and Aerospace Day brought together approximately 1,500 attendees, including students interested in aviation.
Sponsoring organizations, aviator Amelia Rose Earhart, and Senator Rosino emphasized the important role partnerships play in making opportunities available for the next generation of talent across the aviation industry. At the center of their remarks was the consistent theme that immense value can be derived from growing the representation of women in aviation.
“This was a celebration envisioned almost a decade ago,” said Grayson Ardies, Executive Director of Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics. “If we can even just adjust that percentage [women in aviation] a few degrees, that completely changes the workforce landscape over the next many decades, and the goal being, obviously, to make aerospace and defense our number one industry.”
To help students envision a future career in aviation, student attendees had the opportunity to explore AAR’s local maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility and connect with Oklahoma aviation leaders.
AAR is a leader in developing a workforce pipeline and partners with local trade schools, military bases, and organizations to help grow the talent pool necessary to meet aviation workforce demands.
“Aviation is an important industry in the state of Oklahoma. AAR is proud to expand our operations here and appreciates the cross-functional collaboration driving the growth of this important field,” said Tom Hoferer, AAR’s Senior Vice President of Repair and Engineering. “Today’s event highlights the investment of public and private sector partners in celebrating women in aviation and encouraging additional talent to build a career in this fulfilling industry.”
For more information about a career with AAR, visit aarcorp.com/en/careers/.
