Yasmeen Al-Maimani expresses her gratitude on Instagram as she becomes the first female commercial pilot, six years after she acquired her aviation license from the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Byfa5Y2hmDP/
According to reports, Al-Maimani had already practiced flying 300 hours in the United States after she completed a program in Jordan. In 2013, she exchanged her American license with a Saudi one.
After obtaining a license to fly in Saudi, Al-Maimani said that she had a hard time finding an airline that is willing to recruit a female pilot.
She told Al Arabiya English: “I knocked many doors for a job, but the refusal is still going on under the pretext that women’s jobs as female captain do not exist.”
Years later, Saudi women were allowed to participate in the aviation sector including departments in customer service, air traffic control, and transport.
Last year, Saudi women were allowed to work as administrative officers and this year, al-Maimani has become the first female commercial pilot.
Al-Maimani is currently working as First Officer with Nesma Airlines.
