First Ever Saudi Woman to Pilot Domestic Flight in KSA

Saudi Arabia has been on a mission of female empowerment and inclusion for the last several years. From allowing women to drive, announcing Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan as its ambassador to the United States of America, giving women access to sports stadiums, and most recently, women performing in a Jeddah street play.

Another Saudi woman has shattered stereotypes and social norms in the kingdom and instead of settling for driving a car, has been piloting planes. Saudi pilot Yasmeen Al Maimani was announced this week as the first female pilot to head a domestic flight inside Saudi Arabia.

The Nesma Airlines pilot obtained a private pilot license in 2010 from Jordan and completed 300 hours of training in the United States to obtain a commercial pilot license. According to Al Arabiya, Al Maimani became the second Saudi woman – following Hanadi Zakaria AlHindi – to obtain a commercial pilot license from the KSA’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

Al Maimani refused multiple job offers from other Gulf airlines and kept waiting for an offer from a Saudi one.

According to multiple reports, the GACA issued pilot licenses to five Saudi women last year.

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