Rosella Bjornson


Rosella Marie Bjornson, is a retired Canadian airline pilot, who was the first female pilot for a commercial airline in North America and the first woman member of the Canadian Air Line Pilots Association, International.

Career

Bjornson was educated at Champion School and County Central High School in Vulcan. She first learned to fly at the Air West Flight School in Lethbridge, as a birthday gift from her parents in July 1964. She went on to become an instructor at the Flying Club in Winnipeg.
Bjornson's ground-breaking flight as a commercial pilot was in April 1973 from Thompson, Manitoba to Winnipeg, on a Transair Fokker F-28. It was another five years before Air Canada hired Judy Cameron.
In 1990, Bjornson was the first Canadian woman promoted to the rank of captain, when flying for Canadian Airlines International. She later flew with Air Canada and Zip before retiring in 2004.

Honours

In 1997, Bjornson was inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame. In 2004, she was inducted into the Women in Aviation, International Hall of Fame.
In 2014, Bjornson was honoured with a commemorative postage stamp. In 2018, she was appointed to the Alberta Order of Excellence.
In 2017 Capt Bjornson was awarded a Masters Commendation by The Honourable Company of Air Pilots for her contributions to equality for women in the airlines in Canada.