Captain Adebanwo: First female pilot to fly brand new aircraft to Nigeria

Chief Pilot of Ibom Air, Captain Ruth Adeola Adebanwo, has achieved the historic feat of emerging the first female pilot to fly a new aircraft.

She flew a brand-new Airbus A220-300 from Mirabel, Canada, to Uyo, Nigeria, a flight that took over 15 hours.

Adebanwo began her aviation career as cabin crew before progressing through the ranks to become a pilot and eventually Chief Pilot of Ibom Air.

The aircraft was delivered from Airbus' facility in Mirabel to Victor Attah International Airport in Uyo on September 1, 2026 with the pilot flying the airbus for 8,945 kilometres from Montreal, Canada to Uyo, Nigeria.

At a welcome reception for her at the Victor Attah International Airport,VAIA, in Uyo, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who described her as ‘Amazing Ruth’, said: ‘’It’s not your size that flies aircraft, it’s your brain’’.

Governor Umo Eno said: “Today every girl child in this country should be proud, inspired and encouraged…You can break the glass ceiling. Yes, you can!

“Today Captain Ruth’s husband and her children and her parents would be very proud that she’s the first female pilot to fly into Nigeria a brand new Airbus A220-300.

“So, girls, don’t look down on yourself. Don’t let anybody intimidate you. If this A220-300 Airbus could not intimidate Captain Ruth, nobody can intimidate you. Captain Ruth, thank you so much. Please step forward and take a bow. You are the pride of the womenfolk.’’

For two decades, she has served as licensed pilot of many aircraft-type including the Bombardier CRJ700/900/1000, Boeing 737-300/500, De Havilland DHC-8 (Q400), Cessna 441 and the Airbus A220-300.

The mother of two boys is a graduate of the City University London where she studied Air Safety Management and the renowned 43 Air School in Port Alfred, South Africa where she obtained her first commercial pilot licence in 2003.

In a profession where women make up approximately 5% to 6% of all pilots globally, Captain Ruth is highly rated and was back in 2022 the winner of the Akwaaba African Travel Market Top 100 Women in Travel and Tourism in Africa.

But she began her aviation adventure at the Nigerian College of  Aviation Technology, Zaria where she graduated with a Cabin Crew Certificate. That was after her Secondary School at Queens College, Lagos.

After qualifying as pilot in South Africa, she spent more than 15 years gaining rigorous flight experience across multiple domestic carriers in Nigeria, including Chanchangi, Arik, Aero and Dana Air, moving up steadily from First Officer to Captain and now the chief pilot of Ibom Air.

Raised by a hardworking separated Mom, she manages Ibom Air’s entire cockpit crew, flight schedules and operational safety metrics.

Apart from helping to oversee the entire fleet of Ibom Air which now stands at 10, Captain Ruth is also part of the Ibom Air team managing the State’s heavy investment in building local or overseas training for staff of Ibom Air in order to create a self-sustaining aviation ecosystem.