Irene Koki Mutungi

“I think the one thing that stood out for me when it comes to hurdles is having been the first woman and the only woman in the airline”

“I would definitely encourage more young women to consider careers in the aviation industry.”

“As a mother of boys, I’m all for empowering women, but let’s not forget the next generation of boys.”

“Coincidentally, the passenger who declined to fly with me was on my first Fokker 50 flight from a city in Kenya, Kisumu. He said he was not a guinea pig to be flown by a woman.”

“There was also uncertainty of how my male counterparts would accept me with all the stigma surrounding the male-dominated career, as I would have been a first.”

“I get to experience the extremely busy airspaces and adverse weather, which is a challenge I like to take on. The airspace in Africa is not as busy and we don’t have extreme weather like hurricanes, snowstorms, etc”

“We have to prove ourselves, women, we can do it maybe even better.”