On 8 March the whole celebrates the International Women’s Day. Today, Prime Minister Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé granted audience to Miss Ayélé Jessica Kouévi, Togo’s first female commercial pilot. She was introduced by the Managing Director of Asky, Essayas Hailu.

“I’ve come to introduce myself to Her Excellency the Prime Minister. I wish to first of all introduce myself and then thank His Excellency Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé and his government for giving young women and men the opportunity to fulfil their potential in Togo pursue the career they want. That was the reason of my visit. After sharing my story with Her Excellency, she in turn thought it was a good idea to share her own story with me. Her enlightening story resonates with me. We come from different backgrounds, but I identified with her determination and courage and this motivates me to achieve more and contribute to the development of this country,” Miss Ayélé Jessica Kouévi declared.

After the young Togolese graduating with a Baccalauréat S, majoring in mathematics, she flew to France, where she took preparatory courses in engineering schools. She joined the University of Lille, where she completed a degree course in mathematics. In 2021, she passed the competitive examination for the pan-African airline Asky and later trained as a pilot in Ethiopia.

‘’After my training, I returned to Togo where I joined Asky, which financed the second part of my training. I then went to Nairobi to complete special training on Boeing 737 NG and Boeing 737 Max. Today, I’m a commercial pilot, a well qualified professional pilot to fly Boeing 737, but I still undergo training with Asky,” she continued.

Miss Kouévi was so keen to share her first flying experiences.
‘’I remember my first solo flight was a memorable day in my life. I flew alone, I take off, did a round and landed under the supervision of my instructor. We also flew in mountainous regions through turbulence. And you must deal with nature which is not always on your side. But you still need to remain on top of the game. Flying through turbulence is scary but fear should not be the name of the
game.”