Ethiopian Airlines has announced its first all-female crew flight to Nigeria.

The airline said women would be expected to fill every role on the flight, from the pilots and cabin crew to in flight ramp operations as well as flight dispatchers on the ground.

According to the airline, this will also be the first time it will be operating an all-women flight in Africa and is expected to leave for Lagos from Addis Ababa on the 16th of December, with some selected Nigerian journalists on board.

The airline quoted the pilot, Capt. Amsale Gualu, as saying during an earlier all-female operated flight to Bangkok from Addis Ababa, “This flight shows us that if women get equal opportunities and work hard, I’m sure they can achieve whatever they want in all fields including the aviation industry.

The all-female crew, which also has Tigist Kibret as first officer, will be flying the Boeing 777.

The airline said, “In a country where few women have dared to enter the highly male-dominated profession of piloting, Capt. Amsale Guale in 2010 became the first Ethiopian female captain by flying an Ethiopian Airlines Bombardier from Addis Ababa to Gondar.

“We want to promote women’s empowerment and encourage more African women to pursue aviation career. Although one-third of our employees are women, the figure is smaller when it comes to positions such as pilots and technicians.”

The airline stated that as the first Skytrax 4 star airline in Africa, the largest and fastest growing, it is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven business centres such as Ethiopian Domestic and Regional Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service.

“Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline registering an average growth of 25 per cent in the past seven years,” the airline added.