Serendib Aviation: All Female Flying Crew Makes History At Srilankan Airlines

SriLankan Airlines’ lady pilots have quietly revolutionized aviation in Sri Lanka, with several international flights being carried out by all-female crews.

Captain Anusha Siriratne and Junior First Officer Madini Chandradasa were the first all-female crew, operating a flight from Colombo to Trichy and back on 1st November 2009. Each leg on an Airbus A320 aircraft took one hour.

They repeated the feat on New Year’s Day 2010 by flying to Karachi and returning, also in a twin-engined A320, with each flight taking three hours and forty minutes.

The airline currently has four ladies among its 189 pilots, the others being Senior First Officers Chamika Rupasinghe and Roshani Jinasena.

SriLankan’s Head of Flight Operations, Captain Druvi Perera, said: “These flights by Capt. Siriratne and Junior First Officer Chandradasa are a milestone at SriLankan Airlines. SriLankan does not discriminate between men and women in its recruitment for any post, including pilots, and it was simply a matter of time before our lady pilots made history with an all-female flight.”

“Of course, the all-female crew flights are no different to those operated by male pilots. At SriLankan, where safety is of paramount importance, what matters is not a pilot’s gender, but his or her experience, training, and expertise,” added Capt. Perera.

SriLankan has a perfect flight safety record over more than three decades of operations, the result of some very tough standards for its pilots. All pilots must have a minimum of seven years of commercial airline experience before being considered for the respected post of Captain.

Capt. Anusha Siriratne, 34, is at present the first and only lady Captain at SriLankan, and has been flying since 1998. She has flown aircraft such as the Lockheed L1011 Tristar, Airbus A320, A330, and A340. But she is adamant that there is nothing special about an all-female flight crew.

Junior First Officer Madini Chandradasa said: “Flying for our National Carrier has certainly been a rewarding experience. The senior pilots at SriLankan possess a wealth of experience which youngsters can learn from.

Senior First Officers Chamika Rupasinghe and Roshani Jinasena are now flying the long-haul A330 and A340 aircraft to Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East.

Capt. Perera says the airline is very pleased with the progress of its lady pilots. “SriLankan Airlines encourages more young women to seriously consider careers as airline pilots. As our first four lady pilots have proven, the sky is the limit,” said Capt. Perera.