Malawi celebrates all-women operated flight: Aviation history for Malawian Airlines

As part of commemorating International Women’s Day, Malawian Airlines on Thursday organised the first ever All-Women operated and supported flight event which saw the only two female Malawian Airlines lady pilots Captain Yolanda  Kaunda and First Officer Lusekelo Mwenifumbo flying the Bombadier Q400 from Blantyre to Dar es Salaam with a stop over at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) in Lilongwe.

The guest of honour at the event which took
place at KIA was First Lady  Getrude Mutharika who was accompanied by Mary Chilima the wife to Vice President Saulos  Chilima.

“We should be proud of these women captains,” Madam Mutharika said.

The event was a milestone for the  Malawian airline as it is the first time in the history of the company to operate such a flight.

Malawian  airline Chief executive Officer, Ahadu Simachew, confirmed that all the flight operations from cockpit, cabin, check-in, customer care, air traffic control to ground handling was all be done by women.

The company said its desire is to contribute towards creating a more gender inclusive world in which women are given a chance and support to thrive in male dominated fields.

“We place immense respect on women and we are an ardent supporter of women empowerment and gender equality. That is why we have over the years made deliberate efforts to increase diversity in the cockpit by training more women pilots to inspire more girls to take up careers in aviation,” the Malawian Airline said.

Yolanda is Malawi’s first female captain.