Tehani Perera 

"Everyone has ocean's to fly if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?" - Amelia Earhart 

A product of Holy Family Convent, Tehani Perera is living her dream in a field that complements her love of travelling. For as long as she's known, Tehani wanted to be a pilot, and had it all mapped out as she began creating a foundation upon which to build that dream. She joined ANC after her O/L’s where she completed a double degree under Northwood University in International Business and Management. She followed it up with a private pilot license from Cosmos Aviation in Ratmalana and got her commercial pilot license from the Asian Academy of Aeronautics in Maldives. Ever since then, she has been conquering the skies and has never looked back. We caught up with Tehani who spoke about being part of a minority in a heavily male dominated industry, what it takes to follow her career choice and the misconceptions associated with female pilots. 

What made you foray into the field of piloting? Did you have family members who influenced your decision? 

My grandfather was an ex Air Force commander and my father served the air force for 10 years before he joined Air Lanka as a first officer and now he is a senior captain at Sri Lankan airlines. So I have been brought up in an aviation environment since my childhood and I believe that is where I got my liking towards this industry. But what really inspired me to become a pilot was when I was just 11 years old and I met the first female pilot of the national carrier - Captain Anusha Siriratne at our school's sports meet where she was the chief guest (a past pupil of Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya). Up until then I was not aware that there were female pilots in Sri Lanka and from that day there was no turning back. I was determined to become a pilot one day. 

This is a heavily male dominated industry. What are the challenges you faced? 

Yes it is a highly male dominated industry but in the past few years there has been a significant improvement in female participation in the aviation industry. When I started my training back in 2013 there were already female captains in the airline and along with me there were many other females pursuing piloting as a career and some of my instructors were female pilots. So there were no specific challenges as such I faced as a female. I'm happy to say that we are all treated equally regardless of gender and if at all female pilots are more celebrated than the male pilots and people are very excited to meet you and there is a lot of encouragement and well wishes that come our way. 

What in your opinion are the skills and qualifications required for this line of work? 

I think the most important thing is one's passion for aviation. It's a career one chooses purely because of the love for aviation, it's not a job that can be done otherwise. With the little experience I have in the industry I believe to become a skillful pilot it is important that you get your basic flying right from a reputed flying school. One should also be a good decision maker and be able to work well under stressful situations. Character plays an important roll as well. Determination, the never give up attitude are some of the important traits because there are bound to be some step backs, failures along the way just like any other career. A strong personality and the ability to work with different personalities and been a team player becomes helpful because when you are up there you only have each other. 

What is the biggest misconception about pilots? More specifically, of female pilots? 

The biggest misconception about female pilots is that we are not emotionally/mentally strong as the male pilots. Some passengers even fear flying with female pilots, especially when the cockpit is occupied with two female pilots. But on the other hand with my little experience and the one time I flew with a female captain, the passengers were very pleased to have flown with two female pilots and we even got compliments. But I think that mindset is bound to change with more and more females taking up piloting in this part of the world and even globally. 

This career choice is obviously stressful and requires you to spend a lot of time away from home. What do you do during your downtime? How do you destress? 

I just sleep. The few days or hours of rest we get in between flights I just sleep to catch up on all the sleep lost during duty hours. But when I have two or three off days I prefer to work out because being fit and healthy  is also very important in this field. Watching movies, reading and spending time with family and friends are some of the ways I destress and whenever time permits I love travelling to countries I have never visited before. 

Who are your role models? 

My father. If I can one day be half the pilot he is I'll be very happy. He is a very easy going chilled out skillful flyer. I think it comes with years of experience as well. And as a female pilot it has to be Captain Anusha. Unfortunately I never got the chance to fly with her but she is a much respected lady in the airline for her humble character and for the great flyer she is. And she inspires me as a pilot and as a woman. 

What advice would you give females hoping to one day become pilots? 

Put your heart and soul into it and keep moving ahead regardless of the many obstacles that might come your way, never give up! Keep that passion going and when you reach great heights remember to be humble. You will belong to the elite group of very few female pilots in the country where you will gain much respect and love and don't ever stop learning - like one aviator once said "the day you think you know everything about flying, is the day you should retire." 

Interviewed by Rihaab Mowlana