June 16, 2005

Saudi Woman Gets Pilot's License

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 4:16 p.m. ET

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- Saudi women cannot drive, but apparently they can fly. A Saudi woman who recently obtained her pilot's license in Jordan said Thursday she has been hired by a private aviation company to fly commercial planes.

Although proud of her career, Capt. Hanadi al-Hindi said she expects an angry reaction when she arrives back in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Conservatives believe women should be confined to home or jobs that do not entail mixing with men, such as in education and philanthropy.

A recent call by a Saudi member of the unelected Consultative Council, which acts like a parliament, to study the issue of women drivers provoked a wave of condemnation.

''I am doing a respectable job,'' al-Hindi said in an interview with The Associated Press.

''I know I will be facing many angry people, but it is my will, and the will of my father, that I become a pilot,'' added al-Hindi.

Al-Hindi, 27, graduated last week from the Amman-based Mideast Aviation Academy and plans to join the private aviation firm owned by billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of King Fahd, a reformist who has been paying for her studies in Jordan.

Alwaleed was at the center of a controversy after former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani turned down his $10 million donation to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. Giuliani was angered by Alwaleed's remark that the United States should ''re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause.''

Calls to Alwaleed's company in Riyadh went unanswered Thursday, the start of the weekend in the kingdom.

But in a statement carried by the Saudi media in November, Alwaleed said al-Hindi has been hired by his firm, the Kingdom Holding Co. He described the decision as a ''historic move for Saudi ladies.''

''The hiring of a female Saudi pilot is the first of its kind,'' the statement said.

''The move transcends the traditional role of Saudi women, previously confined to working in the health, education and philanthropic sectors,'' it added.

Al-Hindi will be one of the very few Arab women to take up this profession. George Matta, the academy's director-general, said Arab women who have attended his academy include one from Qatar and two from Iraq.

Al-Hindi, who was born in the holy city of Mecca, said her chosen career could not have been possible without her father's support. Saudi women need their male guardian's approval to get an education, work and travel.

''My father wanted to become a pilot, but couldn't realize his dream,'' she said. ''That is why he pushed me to study aviation and become a pilot.''

Al-Hindi said she won't be wearing the traditional black cloak -- or abaya -- and headcover that are mandatory in Saudi Arabia.

''I will be dressed like any other pilot so I can fly without complications,'' she said.

Matta said from her first day at school, al-Hindi understood that female pilots cannot cover their hair.

''She agreed to all the regulations,'' he told AP.

''Al-Hindi was a very devoted and hard-working student and she passed her exams with above average grades,'' he added.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Saudi-Female-Pilot.html
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Thursday, 16, June, 2005 (09, Jumada al-Ula, 1426)


First Saudi Female Pilot Graduates
Abdul Jalil Mustafa, Arab News —


AMMAN, 16 June 2005 — The Kingdom’s first woman pilot, Hanadi Zakaria Al-Hindi, graduated yesterday from the Middle East Academy for Commercial Aviation in Jordan.

“It is a source of pride for us,” said Muhammad Audeh, chairman of the academy’s board of directors, at a graduation ceremony where she received her civil aviation license.

For her part, Al-Hindi expressed joy at graduating and said she would return to Saudi Arabia to work on a private plane owned by Prince Al-Waleed ibn Talal who paid the costs of her studies in Jordan.

Sultan Al-Owaideh, the cultural attache at the Saudi Embassy in Amman, expressed pride about the graduation of the first Saudi woman pilot.

“Capt. Hanadi has set an example for the Saudi woman,” he said.

http://www.arabnews.com/page=1&section=0&article=65470&d=16&m=6&y=2005&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom

“Capt. Hanadi has set an example for the Saudi woman,” he said.
Yep, getting in the left seat of a jet in a country where females isn't allowed to drive a car deserves "respect":ok:

Congratulations to her for graduating and good luck with her new career. While not all of her her fellow Saudis will be that enthusiastic, many of us in professional aviation will be rooting for her.

Now we get to see just how "equal" women are in Saudi....how she going to get to work if she cannot drive a car? Now there's contradiction for you.

Congratulations to the Lady....it will be a tough road....hope she prospers!

how she going to get to work if she cannot drive a car? .
Ummmm..........by taxi, like all the other women in KSA.:hmm:

I wish her all the best of luck - she's gonna need it!



many of us in professional aviation will be rooting for her. rooting for her, eh?

Conjures a disturbing mental picture to many non-Yanks! :E

Congratulations to Ms Al Hindi, may many more women follow her in all industries in Saudi. On a similar note, Sharjah based Air Arabia have just employed the first female pilot in the UAE as a first officer on the A320.javascript:smilie(':ok:')
javascript:smilie(':ok:')

From the Gulf news testerday.


Colombian is first woman pilot to join UAE airline

By Saifur Rahman, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Martha Pabon, a Colombian, is the first female pilot to be employed by a UAE-based airline, said an official of Air Arabia, a Sharjah-based budget airline.

"Air Arabia welcomed on-board the first female pilot to fly for a UAE airline. With over a decade of flying experience, 29-year-old Flight Officer Martha Pabon has totalled almost 5,000 hours of flying time," an airline statement said.

"I am really excited about being the first woman pilot here. Air Arabia shows their pioneering spirit in all levels this is just one example. I am really proud and grateful that Air Arabia gave me this opportunity and look forward to working with more woman pilots here," she told Gulf News.

This is Pabon's first assignment in the Middle East. She earlier worked for ACES Airlines in Colombia.

"For some of the pilots I flew with since June 12 [her first flight in the UAE was on June 12, Sharjah Doha-Sharjah], it was the first time they flew with a woman pilot so it was an interesting experience for them too. Airport staff were surprised when they found out that I am a pilot, but they all congratulated me," Pabon said.

"Before I came to the UAE, I was a little worried about the cultural differences, but everyone respects others and this is a pretty multi-cultural society so I am really happy.

"I know I will grow as a professional in Air Arabia. And being in the UAE and knowing and learning about so many different people and cultures I will grow as a person too.":ok: :ok: :ok:

Hanadi Zakaria Al Hindi.

What sort of parent calls their daughter "Al" :confused:

:rolleyes: They'll be giving them the vote next! It's the end of the world I tells ya!

Another empty kitchen!

:E :E :E

ATC will be routing for her as well....

Lets hope she doesn't get caught lifting the duty free. Chop !

This is great stuff. She is to be commended. Hopefully such actions will bring about much needed increases in women's rights in Saudi Arabia.

Lets hope no one gets her to do a PA wishing the following pax good trip/happy birthday etc as happened below:


This is the story.....


We‘d go and sit on the balcony at Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport, directly under one of the PA speakers where we put a tape machine in a bag with the microphone poking out of the top. Then we‘d look for a flight that had arrived in the last 40 minutes from somewhere where you‘d expect people with unpronounceable names i.e. Saudi Arabia,

We would then go to the Airport Help Desk with a prewritten note containing the names of the passengers and ask them to read out the names over the PA system.

The passenger’s names looked innocent enough on paper but they sounded like something else when read out loud.



Looks Like….............................................- Sound Reads Like…
Arheddis Varkenjaab and Aywellbe Fayed - I hate this ******* job, and I will be fired
Arjevbin Fayed and Bybeiev Rhibodie - I’ve just been fired, and bye-bye everybody
Aynayda Pizaqvick and Malexa Krost - I need a pi$$ quick, and my legs are crossed
Awul Dasfilshabeda and Nowaynayda Zheet - Oo-ah, that ‘ s better and now I need a $hit
Makollig Jezvahted and Levdaroum DeBahzted - My colleague just f@<hidden>, and left the room, the b@<hidden>
Steelaygot Maowenbach and Tuka Piziniztee - Still, I got my own back and took a pi$$ in his tea

Still laughing out loud

TnT :p :O :ok:

Will it be this (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/470620/M/) one?
Or perhaps even this (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/113065/M/) one?
Probably won't be this (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/628575/M/) one yet...

"Al" is Arabic for "the" and the meaning in the "Al Hindi" name is "of the Hindi tribe", Similar to a surname. The first name is given by the parents. The second name is the father's name. If they show a thrid name, it will be the grandfather's name. So it's Hanadi (daughter of) Zakaria (of the) Al Hindi (tribe). You would normally refer to them by their first name i.e. Ms Hanadi.

Ahh! Daddy's yacht never looked better!!:)

So much for using the expression "The Al brothers".

Mabrook (and congrats) for the first female Saudi Pilot , Capt. Hanadi Zakaria al Hindi , she really has become the first of many more the Kingdom will see.

........she really has become the first of many more the Kingdom will see.
You ain't seen nothin yet.......wait till it becomes a Queendom.

So, why's this been banished to Jetblast? Was it not considered to be newsworthy?

:confused:

Sand dune -

as if YOU don't still conjure up images of Heather Locklear or even "Emma Peele" while stroking yer Missus.

Not all Yanks are ignorant of your colourful argot.

Ms Hanadi deserves KUDOS for her guts, at least!

Cheers, Mate

I too find it strange that a thread relating to such an amazing achievement by a lady (that is totally aviation related) against all the odds in a country where women are encouraged to stay in the kitchen, walk behind their husbands & hide their bodies in a feudal male chauvinistic society should be relugated to Jetblast.

I could say alot more but for fear of blowing my fuse completely it's perhaps more prudent to bite my tongue. :mad:

This lady, for one, has my complete admiration. She may not have pride of place on PPRuNe but IMHO she's way up there. Shows where the powers that be priorities & pidgeon holing lie. :rolleyes:

How come she is a Captain if she has just gained her license?

Single crew aircraft?

Oh dear me.....Captain? Now who has a fragile ego? The woman in question has sure overcome more than a few obstacles on the way to her accomplishment. She will continue to have some obstacles that her western, male, counterparts never have had to get over.

I for one....think this new pilot should welcomed into the ranks just like any other new pilot....and sure hope she gets mentoring by those who fly with her.

What on earth does ego have to do with it? It's a perfectly valid question, unless the licensing regulations in Saudia are completely different from the rest of the world. Even single crew aircraft require 700 hours or so, or is that just UK/JAA regs?

I would ask the same question about any NEW pilot, as that is precisely the point.

How is life up there on your high horse?

well done, CAPTAIN!!! (she soloed, didn't she???).:ok:

let's hope she is infertile, otherwise all this male admiration for her turns into galled wrath, as can be read on several other threads:hmm:

Kato747,

Easy there big fella!!

Ms Hanadi does indeed deserve our admiration for what she has achieved within the constraints of her environment.

Oh, and here's some more "colourful argot"....

as if YOU don't still conjure up images of Heather Locklear or even "Emma Peele" while stroking yer Missus.

I would prefer something more substantial than the plastic visage (and indeed personality, in all probability) of your Heather Locklear.

Who the f*ck is Emma Peele anyway?

Get a big woolie one up ya :E

Heh-heh..now I can go `bird watching` Would be interesting to see this figure covered all up in black being dropped off at the Airport only to emerge from the dressing room in a captains uniform with the longest urburn hair to her waist tucked into a captains hat.

Will that be `bad watching or LadyBird watching ? Good luck to her, she done well,especially ending up where the $$$$$$ are stored.

The Sgt. :cool: