Up Close … with Esmée Samson, general manager Air Navigation Services ‘It is easier to control airplanes than human beings’ By Vidya Gappy |03 December 2019

Noting down precious data to guide incoming and outgoing planes

Today we meet Esmée Samson, a lady who makes the aviation industry proud. She has been working for the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) for the past 32 years and she is well known for her discipline, seriousness and charm. She is among the few Seychellois women who have ‘made it’ in the aviation industry and she currently holds the post of general manager of the Air Navigation Services.

Esmée Samson was born in a family of four children. She had an exciting childhood surrounded by her parents and siblings. But today we will talk more about her career choice in the aviation industry.

Not her first choice

Esmée joined civil aviation on July 1, 1987 and soon it will be 33 years since she has been in this field. “I had always wanted to be a cabin crew, as I always liked airplanes and at the time, there were no female pilots and I was encouraged a lot to be the first female pilot. But I am someone who suffers a little from vertigo and I do not do too well with heights so I decided that I may not be able to go as far as I would like in that particular career. After that, I wanted to be a cabin crew. At the time, we had the ‘Ligne Aerienne Seychelles’ who was starting to recruit Seychellois cabin crew and I approached my parents but when I told my dad I wanted to be a cabin crew, he told me that I should aim higher for all the years of schooling that I had done.”

While studying, she would come back every holiday to familiarise herself with the place and the airport and this is where she discovered the world of civil aviation. She went through all the departments but when she went to the control tower, she had a heart drop and never left.

“I decided not to opt for cabin crew as well because I thought if my dad didn’t want me to do it, then maybe I would not be happy, so I did not pursue it.”

A timely opportunity

“The opportunity came when I completed school in January 1987. But my father passed away on March 2 that same year and I was called for an interview that same week. My dad’s funeral was to take place in England so I told them I could not make it and I would wait for the following year. I told them to recruit another person for the vacancy and they told me no, they would wait for me as they were already familiar with me, my work and my character. So I went to England for the funeral and when I came back, they interviewed me and I started as a trainee air traffic control assistant. At the time, the set up was not like today, we did not have a ‘Control Centre’, we only had a control tower and we did not have a flight information region. Upper airspace traffic was under the control of Nairobi Centre and we assumed control of traffic operating in the Terminal Control Area (TMA) – a circle centred on SEY VOR of radius 150 nm up to Level 145. At the time, there was not a lot of automation and a lot of things were done manually, writing flight plans, arrival and departure messages by hand; all that can be done today with the touch of a button, was once controlled manually. At the time, there were lots of flights so we had a lot to do.

“After that, when I joined in 1987, in 1989, the Chief Operations officer who was of British nationality told me that I had been selected to attend an aerodrome control training course, meaning you only work in the tower as we did not have the centre at the time. At the time, the only time giving aerodrome was Praslin so after I would be required to go to Praslin. I thought about it and decided to do it but after 1 week and a half, he came back to the tower and told me that my potential is better than that and I would do aerodrome and approach and that upon my return, I can spend a little time on Praslin and then you would already have the qualifications or a rating to then come and work in the tower. It was a defining time in my career and I was nervous and scared because if I failed this course, I would be done, my career would be over and I would remain as an assistant. At that time I had to live with my aunt Murielle Hermitte/Monthy at Cascade as it was closer to the airport and taking the bus to go home at Port Glaud meant losing over 4 hours in a day, so despite my reservations, I decided to go for it.”

Esmée then went for a course in England. She recalled that for the final exam, there were about three experienced and somewhat intimidating men as examiners. “A candidate was required to control about 15 flights per hour and you know along the way they will throw in emergencies or modify your exam, requiring you to rearrange your plan. When they came that day, they greeted me saying ‘Good morning sunny Seychelles girl’, trying their best to make me feel at ease. After the preparations, they started timing you and I did it and passed. They told me ‘well done!’ and I received my certificate.”

First assignment on Praslin and more opportunities

“Back in Seychelles, I was told I would be working on Praslin so I could gain some experience. I was so young and had little exposure with only an Aerodrome and Approach Procedural control rating. The Praslin posting did me good as it gave a boost to my confidence and set me well on my way to being an assertive young lady, determined to give her all. I worked on Praslin for about 10 months. I then returned to Mahé and qualified in the Seychelles Tower and did both Aerodrome and Approach Control.

The Seychelles Flight Information Region opened in 1991.

During January 1991, the organisation informed her that she had been selected to attend a training course to work in the Air Traffic Control Centre. “I was once again nervous as I had only worked 1 week as an Aerodrome and Approach Controller. I was supposed to go with another colleague, Allen Banane, who had 11 years of experience in control. So I thought to myself, I am just getting settled, on Praslin there were no separations and we did all landings and take offs and I was starting to enjoy air traffic. So both Allen and I went and I ended up passing. So when we came back, we continued to work at the tower as there were not enough people at the time. We were doing a ‘three-watch system’ with David Labrosse and a controller from the Centre. We worked for three months this way in order for them to be able to have enough qualified controllers so as to open the control centre. We were working morning and nights with only one day off. When the time came for us to then be trained in the Air Traffic Control Centre we took it in our stride and joined the ranks of the controllers who had 3 ratings and endorsement upon successful completion.”

After that, they started to open vacancies for senior air traffic control officers (SATCO), for operations and training. She barely met the requirements, which stated minimum 3 years experience, as she started in 1992, and this was in 1994 but she applied anyway and they decided to give her a chance and she became the SATCO for operations.

Rigorous working hours

Esmée noted that in this section of aviation you do shift work and it was rigorous. They worked thoroughly to open the control centre. “At the time we were opening the control centre, another colleague, Michel Sicobo, after all his dedication and diligent work to have the centre open, passed away. We had expatriates (Tanzanians) working in the control tower. The then DCA (Directorate of Civil Aviation) then contracted an English Company, International Air Radio Limited for expats to keep the centre operational and cover for sickness and whatever necessary.”

Some years later Esmée, with further promotions, was transferred from operations to training.

“When they restructured in 2006, when we transitioned from DCA to SCAA (Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority), further restructuring took place and I was promoted to manager Air Traffic Services and I stayed as manager until 2011. In 2011 I was appointed to the post of general manager Air Navigation Services and that is the position I am currently holding. Till today, I am still happy to wake up and come to work. There are lots of challenges as a lot has changed over the years – the introduction of the control centre, vigorous regulations, audits – but it comes with the dynamic world of aviation.

Talking about her work/passion, Esmée jokingly told us that it is easier to control airplanes than humans. “With airplanes, you have set procedures and processes, criteria to apply, whereas when working with other people we have to be attentive to their needs and try to understand where they are coming from.”

She has urged more people to take up careers that provide satisfaction and challenges.