Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s leading and most profitable airline, said that it will operate an All-Female Functioned Flight on November 19, 2015 on the Addis Ababa – Bangkok route.
According to the airline, the historic flight is aimed at showcasing Ethiopian Airlines corporate conviction of “Women Empowerment for a Sustainable Growth”, adding that it is first of its kind in the airline 70 years of service.
The airline explained that the historical flight would be operated by an All – Female crew led by female flight deck crew members and senior female executives on board that flight.
The continent’s leading airline also stated that on ground flight preparations would also be conducted by females only such as Cabin Operations, Airport Operations, Flight Dispatcher, Load Controller, Ramp Operations, On-board logistics, Aviation Safety and Security, Ticket Offices, Catering, Air Traffic Controllers(ATC) as well as Global Call Center.
Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, said, “It is a great honor for us to have competent women aviation professionals at Ethiopian in every aspect of the aviation field, which portrays Ethiopian as gender responsive organization that strives to pursue its underlying stance of being an equal opportunity employer. We are very proud of their achievements and contributions and it is our sincere belief that this will continue with an enhanced magnitude and passion to sustain Ethiopian on its fast growth trajectory.”
He continued, “Above all, this is an ample opportunity to inspire young African female students to believe in their dreams and embark to fill the skill gap for aviation professionals. Women are the continent’s greatest untapped resources, and hereby fully dedicated to ensure the increase 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. We invite the whole world to watch our all-female operated long haul flight to and from Bangkok.”
Recalled that Ethiopian Airlines created a conducive situation for new mothers, by launching a nursing room equipped with modern amenities; comfortable reclining chairs and refrigerators for the storage of breast milk.
The airline also distributed new electronic breast pumps to new mothers, adding that the fact that female employees comprise 30 per cent of the total Ethiopian employee population signifies Ethiopian core value of equal opportunity employer.
