Douglas Chrispine
Captain Douglas Chrispine is a Kenyan aviator whose 10,000-plus flight hours span three continents and two of the world’s premier airlines. After earning his commercial licence at 27, he spent nine formative years at Kenya Airways, mastering the Boeing 737 fleet and logging 3,000 hours while mentoring cadet pilots in Nairobi and Mombasa. Seeking wider skies, he joined Emirates in 2015, upgrading to captain on the Boeing 777 in 2019 and, soon after, earning designation as a flight instructor on the wide-body jet. To date he has type-rated and line-checked more than 100 first officers and captains, championing a crew-resource-management culture that has been adopted across Emirates’ training syllabus.
Chrispine is completing dual postgraduate studies in International Relations and Aviation Management, positioning himself for strategic leadership in East Africa’s burgeoning aerospace sector. He co-chairs the Kenya Professional Pilots Association mentorship programme, funds STEM-to-cockpit scholarships for high-school pupils in Kajiado County, and speaks regularly at the African Airlines Association Safety Forum on human-factors training in low-resource settings. Off duty he volunteers with the Flying Doctors Society, ferrying urgent medical supplies to remote Kenyan airstrips.
With a blend of cockpit expertise and policy insight, Captain Chrispine is charting a course from flight deck to boardroom, determined to help shape a safer, more competitive African airline industry.