Covid-19 pandemic clipped Soweto pilot's wings — but she will fly again
Image: Supplied/ Amanda Kandawire-Khoza
A pilot from Soweto who soared to new heights at the controls of the world’s biggest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, is now jobless because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Amanda Kandawire-Khoza, 30, explained how the global pandemic had clipped her wings just a year after she joined the Dubai-based Emirates airline.
In a post on Facebook, she said: “On March 21 2019, I hopped on a plane and relocated to the UAE [United Arab Emirates] to start a new chapter of my life. Little did I know I would become the first black South African female to fly the A380.”
Image: Supplied / Amanda Kandawire-Khoza
Showing optimism despite joining the ranks of those whose careers have been upended by the effects of the coronavirus, Kandawire-Khoza said she did not take for granted all she had achieved.
“Even though I’ve lost my job, the one feeling that trumps them all is gratitude. I am incredibly blessed. My whole life I’ve thrown caution to the wind regarding the journey that God has entrusted to me. Joining Emirates was an incredible win for me, and getting to fly the A380 was the sweetest cherry of them all.
Image: Supplied / Amanda Kandawire-Khoza
Speaking to SowetanLIVE's sister publication TimesLIVE, she explained how the pandemic hit the aviation industry badly, leaving even skilled people like herself in financial distress.
“The aviation industry has taken a huge knock as a result of Covid-19. Worldwide lockdowns meant no travelling, which meant no revenue for airlines.
Kandawire-Khoza is packing up her life in the UAE and plans to return to SA after last being home in February, a month before the country's borders closed.
When she arrives, she plans to renew her SA airline transport pilot licence which she had converted to a UAE licence.
Then the hunt for work will start.
TimesLIVE