Three women made history as the first female pilots at Malaysia Airlines: Pearl Wendy Mak, Wang Wen Chien and Nur Hidayah Mohamad Rasidin.

At the MAS Crew Graduation, CEO and Captain Izham Ismail said, “I’m very proud that for the first time Malaysia Airlines has three amazing, strong and resilient women graduating as pilots today. It is my hope that the future of Malaysia Airlines includes many more female captains flying our aircraft and making the country proud.”

The airline has made an effort to recruit more female pilots in the face of a pilot shortage. Second Officer Chien said her interest in flying dates to her adolescence, when she took a one-day pilot course.

“I was fascinated when the aircraft took off with the pilot seated next to me, he actually taught me to do some maneuvers in the sky and I found it really cool,” Chien told New Straits Times. Her advice to other women interested in flying is, “Do what you like, it may not be easy at the beginning but never give up half way through because you never know what the end result will be.”

The women are now part of a small group: Just 7.01 percent of pilots in the world are women, according to Women in Aviation International.