Ethiopian Airlines, the national carrier of Ethopia operated its first ever domestic flight within Africa by an all female crew on 16th December 2017.
The flight from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to Lagos in Nigeria was manned entirely by women, from pilots to cabin crew, check-in staff to flight dispatchers on the ground.
The Boeing 777 made the journey in five and a half hours, and was part of a push to encourage African women to believe pursuing careers in aviation, an industry that is currently dominated by men.
It’s not the first time the airline has intentionally used an all-female crew – in 2015 it did the same on an international flight to Bangkok, Thailand.
The same female Captain, Amsale Gualu, piloted both flights said that this flight shows us that if women get equal opportunities and work hard, she was sure they can achieve whatever they want in all fields including the aviation industry.
An Ethiopian Airlines spokesperson said that there is a plenty of opportunity to inspire young African female students to believe in their dreams and embark to fill the skill gap for Aviation professionals. The women are the continent’s greatest untapped resources, and hereby fully dedicated to ensuring the increased number of women in decision-making positions on top of key operational areas by consistently grooming and mentoring successor female employees for top managerial, technical and operational positions.
