Air Seychelles celebrates women's day with special female flight

In celebration of International Women’s Day, Air Seychelles today operated a special flight between Seychelles and Johannesburg with a female captain and a team of all-female cabin crew.

At the controls of flight HM061 was Captain Nicole Changleng, while the guests were looked after by Cabin Manager Janice Benstrong, Cabin Senior Anick Souris, and Flight Attendants Gabriella Julie and Rohana Adelaide.

Adding a special touch to the day, the only male member of the flight crew, First Officer Derick Imaduwa, surprised his female colleagues with flowers before departure.

Captain Changleng said: “I always dreamed about becoming a pilot when I was younger, and feel so fortunate that I have been able to realize that dream with Air Seychelles. It is a very rewarding career, and I hope today's flight inspires more Seychellois women to consider a role in aviation.”

Captain Changleng joined Air Seychelles in 1997 as a First Officer on the Twin Otter aircraft, before eventually attaining her commander’s bars for the Airbus A330.

Remco Althuis, Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles, said: “Today is the perfect occasion to celebrate the enormous contribution our female colleagues make to Air Seychelles in all areas of the business, including Flight Operations.

“At Air Seychelles, we remain deeply committed to providing equal opportunities and are proud to have a strong, talented and gender-balanced workforce, of which 50.5% of the staff are female.”