by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 2:35 PM ET, Wed January 17, 2024
Japan Airlines announced Mitsuko Tottori will become the airline’s first woman president following a collision between a Japan Airlines plane and a Coast Guard aircraft that left five dead during the Japanese New Year holiday celebration.
Tottori is currently the senior managing executive officer of JAL and will take her new office in April, according to ABC News. The current president and CEO, Yuji Akasaka, will take over as chairman of the airline, replacing Yoshiharu Ueki.
Mitsuko Tottori is not only the first woman president of the airline; she’s also the first woman to climb the corporate ladder from a cabin attendant to president of JAL.
Tottori has vowed that safety will be a greater priority under her leadership.
On January 2, an Airbus A350-900 carrying 379 passengers and crew landed behind the Japanese Coast Guard’s Bombardier Dash-8 at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport. The coast guard plane was preparing to take off to deliver relief aid to residents who were impacted by the recent magnitude 7.6 earthquake that hit north-central Japan on New Year’s Day.
Both aircraft started on fire from the collision. All passengers of the JAL plane were evacuated within eighteen minutes of the crash, but five of the six Coast Guard flight crew lost their lives.
“The shock at that time is still deeply carved in my heart. And I have maintained a strong sense of responsibility to hand down the importance of aviation safety to younger generations,” Tottori said. “Safety is the foundation of an airline company and I will work on safe operations with even stronger conviction.”
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