Online Reporter
TEN years ago, two Air Zimbabwe female pilots — Captains Chipo Matimba and Elizabeth Simbi Petros — became the first pilots to fly a Boeing 737 from Harare to Victoria Falls in the country’s first ever all-female flight deck crew.
This was the first time in the history of the airline and a memorable moment for the two captains.
Only one male was part of the cabin crew.
On her social media platforms, Captain Matimba said:
“History has been made! First all-female flight deck crew on the Air Zimbabwe Boeing 737! Two captains! Absolute pleasure Captain Elizabeth Simbi Petros.”
Captain Petros also posted on her Facebook page:
“Air Zim First all-Women 737 Flight Deck Crew! Flight to Vic Falls This Morning. Was a pleasure Skipper Chipo Matimba!”
The two pilots painted the sky pink, especially when it comes to gender disparity in the aviation field.
In the world of commercial airlines, back then, piloting was one of the most skewed with 97 percent of all commercial pilots being male (4 000 female commercial pilots versus 130 000 male worldwide according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots).
Air Zimbabwe had only five female pilots with Matimba and Petros being the two captains while three others were first officers.
Captain Matimba’s first flight was a Siai Marchetti SF260, also known as the Genet.
She revealed how soon after high school, she saw an advert for Air Force of Zimbabwe trainee pilots and applied.
She went through the recruitment formalities in 1994 and it was not a bed of roses as the military training was gruelliing but certainly not insurmountable.
With other female Zimbabwean pilots like Captain Emily Njovana having paved the way for them in the male- dominated field, Matimba and Petros could not just resist the temptation “to play with the big birds”.
Social media exploded with praise and congratulatory messages for the female pilots after they completed their historic trip.
“Great news this. Absolutely fantastic! Well done ladies. I and the other millions of Zimbabwean ladies thank you for representing us well. Tinotenda. Thank you Air Zimbabwe,” commented Elizabeth Vavashe.
Leroy Lambert Goliath said: “It should be illegal to look that good and fly at the same time (see what I did there). Congratulations Ladies. Well done.”
Sally Mwaketa said: “Go Girls. Girls with ambition.
That’s what I want to see! Proud of you all the way. The Galaxy is the limit. You can actually fly a spaceship.”
In 2014, Kenya Airways made history with an all-female crew flight on a new B787 plane. — Zimpapers Archives.
