August 28, the date on which Women’s Day is celebrated in the United Arab Emirates, will also be marked in the history of the country’s commercial aviation. It will be the debut of the first Emirati woman as an airline captain.
Aisha Al Mansoori, 33, will take over as a pilot for Etihad Airways this Sunday (28), the airline announced in a statement.
The company reported that the other women who hold the position of captain in the country’s airlines are all foreigners. Aisha’s achievement, announced last Thursday (25), made her a character in Vogue Arabia magazine.
According to Etihad Airways, Aisha joined the pilot training program in 2007. At the time, she and another colleague were the only women from the United Arab Emirates to join the group. In 2010, Al Mansoori graduated and made his first flight as a co-pilot in an Airbus A320 aircraft.
Since then, she has had a career progression and I was able to complete the required flight hours to become a Senior First Officer. According to the company, she was then the first woman from the United Arab Emirates to fly an Airbus A380.
According to the company, to reach the rank of captain, Al Mansoori completed a rigorous program of Etihad verifications and the mandatory number of flight hours to be considered for the position.
After passing the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority’s theoretical knowledge test and flight exams, she officially became the first Emirati captain to hold an air transport pilot license in the country.
“Aviation is gender blind and to prove itself, Etihad pilots undergo intensive examinations and meet stringent flight hours requirements to ensure the highest standards of international aviation training are maintained,” said Mohammad. Al Bulooki, chief operating officer of the Etihad Aviation Group, in a press release.
He further stated that the achievement will inspire other young women around the world to follow the dream of aviation.
“I am proud to be the first Emirati woman to be captain of a commercial airline and I hope to be an inspiration for young women to pursue this career,” Aisha said in the company’s statement.
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