By Makeda Mikael

THE COWGIRLS OF ANTIGUA AIRSPACE

By the 1980s and beyond, the Air Traffic Control at TAPA (Antigua Airport) was manned mostly by women in aviation, tough, knowledgeable in their sphere, with the command necessary for the job. Our international pilots called them Cowgirls of Antigua!

Managing pilots is a serious mission when considering their race, language difficulty, newness to small island runways, and sometimes hidden nervousness.

Guiding and instructing men operating in these glorified positions can be a bit overwhelming, but our cowgirls performed so well that pilots felt safe under their control, and were very vocal about it when safely on the ground.

Antigua’s Women in the Tower became a conversation piece as stories abound of safe advice in stormy weather, or congestion on the ramp or on approach.

Standards were very high as and as corporate aviation took off and an FBO( Fixed Base Operation) was established on the remote location on Runway 10, this added to the logistics of control on two areas of the airport, without the use of a parallel taxiway.

The Cowgirls were not fazed, and often recalcitrant pilots seeking priority in departing may infringe the start-up rules, which was dealt with effectively, subjecting them to waiting time before take-off.

Ground operations at that time were strictly controlled also, and having created a small aircraft hub, serving the high-end small islands of Anguilla, Nevis, Tortola and St. Barts, plus daily commuters to Montserrat and Barbuda, Ground Control was an exercise also managed by the Tower, exquisitely moving a bevy of small propeller aircraft between long haul jombos, jets, narrow bodied aircraft and corporates, all wanting to be first off the black(runway).

Adequate and on-time training of the ‘Cowgirls and their male colleagues provided the courage and determination, which kept our Ramp safe and approach and departure clear and unobstructed.

Today our Cowgirls are now mature women, some have gone on to other enterprises, and those remaining are directed by an older Cowgirl at the head of Air Traffic Control.

Further as Antigua has trained their Air Traffic Department in Radar Systems newly acquired, we remember fondly the days and nights of the Cowgirls of Antigua!