Cape Town – Amanda Kandawire-Khoza, 31, from Soweto has proven why she is the whole package, having started three business ventures during the Covid-19 pandemic, aside from being a pilot.
Kandawire-Khoza knew she wanted to be a pilot from the age of five and was adamant to make her dreams a reality and enrolled in a flight school right after completing her high school career.
Speaking to African News Agency (ANA), she said she started flying at the age of 17 but received the best 18th birthday gift.
“I started flying solo on my 18th birthday,” Kandawire-Khoza said.
She has worked for airlines such as SA Express, South African Airways (SAA) and Emirates.
Kandawire-Khoza also flew the world’s biggest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, when she relocated to Dubai while working for Emirates.
“I enjoyed flying the Airbus A380. I had Airbus experience from SAA and needed that in order to fly the A380. You know, size does matter as it was a challenge flying the A380, but I thoroughly enjoyed flying that aircraft,” Kandawire-Khoza told ANA.
After working at Emirates for a year and a half, Kandawire-Khoza was retrenched due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and she packed her bags and returned to South Africa in October.
“When I came home I knew the aviation industry in South Africa would also be badly affected by Covid-19. So, I made the decision to not job-hunt for the next year and focus on my entrepreneurial side,” Kandawire-Khoza said.
She took the time to delve into her creative side and do all the things she couldn’t when flying.
This gave life to two of her businesses, Fly Like A Girl, and Layover Art.
Fly Like A Girl is a company on a mission to expose children, especially the girl child, to aviation through play.
The company produces educational…