Take off for the women of Ethiopian Airlines

ETHIOPIAN Airlines is Africa’s largest airline group and also has some of the youngest fleet across its rapidly expanding network. The airline employs women professionals in various areas of its operations including male dominated line of works such as pilots, aircraft technicians and more.

As part of celebrating International Women’s Day 2024, The Voice spoke with Captain Kalkidan Girma – who has been with the company for twelve years and was the first female Ethiopian captain of the Airbus 350 – as well as First Officer Frehiwot Belay who has been working with the airline for five years.

Together they were in control in the cockpit on the latest all-female flight from Addis Ababa to Heathrow on March 8.

AT: What inspired you to join the aviation industry?

KG: It was my dad! He was also a pilot for Ethiopian Airlines, and so I fell in love with aviation since I was a little girl. It’s something I wanted to do since I was a baby. My dad helped me in so many ways. He was my main motivation, he was my right hand, he was everything. He gave me an idea and explained the reality of what to expect being a pilot. It definitely wasn’t easy but it was also definitely something worth fighting for.

He explained that becoming a pilot has nothing to do with gender. It’s not like we are lifting anything. It’s far more about working with your mind than anything else. He told me: “as long as you are happy with it and you love what you do, you can be anything”. So, I grew up having been taught exactly that – that I could be anything.

Recently I was able to take my mum and dad on a flight, and that was a wonderful personal moment for me, because when I was younger it was my dad who flew us, but now things had come full circle – I was the captain!

FB: My motivation wasn’t as early as childhood, but when I was growing up, I saw many role models in aviation who inspired me. Captain Amsale Gualu was the first female captain in the history of Ethiopia and captained the Boeing 767, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787 aircrafts. She was the one who really inspired me!

As long as you qualify and you train properly, then you can do anything

In the past, Ethiopian Airlines has flown an all-female crew to places such as Bangkok, Lagos, Buenos Aires and Olso on International Women’s Day. Was it important to fly to London Heathrow?

KG: Yes, it’s very significant. This all-women-functional flight initiative not only empowers women but also sends a powerful message about gender equality. We want to inspire future generations of female aviators and we continue to lead the way in promoting gender equality within the aviation industry.

Did you both face any challenges during your years of training?

KG: I’m not sure how it was before I started but by the time we got hired all the qualifications, exams and requirements were the same for the men and women. I did not face any extra challenges because I am a woman. We were given the same opportunity just like everyone else.

FB: I am happy to say that I didn’t face any obstacles during my training. In my personal experience I have found that both men and women face the same challenges. It’s the same requirements that is expected from us and we will go through the same training process and everything else. I have strived hard to achieve them.

Why is it so important to inspire women into the industry?

KG:  I think that it’s not just the aviation industry – for the whole female population it’s been like an unfair perception and a “man-thing.” For example, some people wrongly think: “it’s only the men who can do this, or only the men who can achieve that”, especially coming from Africa where we are often incorrectly taught that men are the ones who do everything.

But things have changed so much recently. There used to be so few female pilots when I started but now there are so many of us that we don’t even know each other anymore. In the beginning we were familiar with one another but now things have come so far. All of a sudden you have female pilots, all-female flight crews, even female technicians.

Ethiopian Airlines is leading the way and speaking not just to Africa but to the whole world that it’s not based on gender; that has nothing to do with it.  As long as you qualify and you train properly, then you can do anything.

How is Ethiopian Airlines helping to provide more females with access to quality training and education?

KG: Ethiopian Airlines is no longer employing from just the cities anymore. We are going further out to universities and as far out as some villages and recruiting from there. Girls who live entirely in rural areas or the countryside and who have never even seen a car or the sound of an aircraft, even they have now been given the opportunities to be pilots, cabin crew, and technicians. So, this is a really huge breakthrough and the future is very exciting!