Female pilot makes history

The first flight of Flight Officer Martha Pabon has made Air Arabia the first UAE airline to have a female pilot.

By Shalini Seth

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Published: Thu 16 Jun 2005, 11:03 AM

Last updated: Wed 23 Nov 2022, 11:48 AM

The 29-year-old, with more than a decade’s experience, was welcomed onboard when she set out to create regional history with her flight to Doha.

Martha Pabon has come to the airline from ACES Airlines in Colombia, South America. She has been flying since 1994 and has almost 5,000 hours of total flight time, with over 1,700 hours of jet transport flight time on the Boeing 727 and Airbus A320.


Captain Saleem Zaheer, Chief Pilot was happy with his new team member. “It is a pleasure having Martha join us as a pilot at Air Arabia. We pride ourselves on our team and she is quite an addition to our multi-cultural flight crew,” he said.

Mohammed Wuld Mohammed, from Mauritania, a UAE resident, who flew on the first flight piloted by Martha Pabon from Doha to Sharjah on June 12, shared the passengers’ enthusiasm, saying: “The UAE should be proud that it’s national carrier can compete with any international airline. I was delighted to find out that the first woman pilot in the UAE is with Air Arabia.”



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