Vernita Kayiwa and Tina Drazu are giving young Ugandan girls hope and a chance to dream of having a lucrative career as a pilot.
The two women are set to become the first Ugandan women to fly the wide body Airbus A330, as the country works on reviving its aviation line and expands its fleet. The aviation industry is currently a male dominated field with reports indicating that female pilots make up only 5% of the airline transport pilots globally.
So, who are these two awesome ladies blazing this trail and showing us it can be done?
Vanita Kayiwa
Kayiwa is a Ugandan airline transport pilot, who previously served as a First Officer on the CRJ 900 aircraft.
Kayiwa has spent most of her flying career at Air Serv Limited, piloting Cessna 208 Caravans. She first flew as a First Officer, before she was promoted to Captain on the Cessna 208, in 2016.
Vanita Kayiwa is the first Ugandan woman to make Captain at Air Serv Limited, since that airline was founded in 1987.
Tina Drazu
Drazu is a Ugandan airline transport pilot, who has served as a First Officer at Uganda National Airlines Company on the CRJ 900 aircraft.
Drazu spent one year and three months flying with Asante Airlines in South Sudan, from January 2011 until March 2012. She was then employed by Aerolink Uganda from July 2012 to April 2019, as a line pilot. In April 2019, she was hired by Uganda National Airlines Company, as one of a small number of female pilots at the airline.
