Equal Opportunity
Aviation news: First lady captain now flying for Ethiopian Airlines
(eTN) - Last week saw information coming from Addis Ababa that Ethiopian Airlines (ET), one of the oldest aviation companies on the African continent, has at last appointed their first lady captain, Ms. Amsale Endegnanew.
After serving as first officer and flying Boeing 737 and 767 aircraft, she is now in command of a Bombardier Q400 aircraft, which is used to serve on domestic routes across Ethiopia and can also be deployed on regional routes out of the airline’s Addis Ababa hub.
Ms. Amsale reportedly joined ET 10 years ago when affirmative action brought in female fliers. According to one source, the airline presently has a further 4 lady first officers and has plans to employ several more in the future.
Ethiopian has recently become an applicant member of the global Star Alliance and having ladies in the cockpit and in the left seat is another step forward in offering equal opportunities for women aspiring to become pilots.
Comments
ET has had few female pilots before. Just that they haven't been with the airline long enough to be captains, i reckon, as they left the airline for various reasons unknown to me.
I understand Capt. Amsale joined the cadet pilot program just as everyone else, after passing the highly competitive entrance examination to one of the oldest Pilot Training Schools in Africa. Her journey to the left seat also wasn't any different in the sense that she had to work hard, fly propellers as well jets as a first officer and prove herself; affirmative action has nothing to do with it.
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