Yasmin Al-Maimani – The first Saudi woman to get a pilot license

5 pilot licenses to Saudi Women: Recently it was reported that the General Authority of Aviation issued five licenses for Saudi female pilots that permit them to work as a captain on Saudi Arabian Airline.

It was a part of GACA’s movement to empower Saudi women to work with the aviation sector which was one of the objectives of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Hanadi Zakaria Al-Hindi is the very first Saudi female to become a pilot. In 2005 she could pass the exams and training to become a pilot. Yasmeen, however, is not lucky enough as Hanadi Zakaria Al-Hindi.

Yasmin AlMaimani: The General Authority of Civil Aviation said one woman got a special pilot license named “PPL” which permit her to fly as her hobby without working in any airline. Among all the five ladies, Yasmin AlMaimani is the one to obtain the permit license to work as captain and to fly commercial and private jets.

Yasmin AlMaimani got qualified in Jordan and there she obtained a PPL license in 2010 and came to Saudi Arabia to submit her PPL license but unfortunately, she was rejected saying that there was no such license at that time.

This was the time when she left her file and moved to the US and completed 300 hours of flying practice working with the International airline. From there she obtained an American license which she exchanged with the Saudi license after meeting all the requirements set by the Saudi Aviation Authority since 2013.

She failed to find a job for being a woman: She said, after obtaining the license from Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation, I failed to find any job in this Industry and beside this Saudi and Gulf Airliners refused to recruit me because I was a Woman

Yasmin AlMaimani said, she later received some offers from other Gulf airlines but she turned them down because she was waiting for some similar initiative from a Saudi Company that can trust and support other Saudi Woman to increase their strength in this field.

Despite AlMaimani holds Government license and possesses all the requirements that are needed to become a professional Saudi pilot she failed to get a single working opportunity just because she was a female and every door was closed labeling, “women’s jobs and female captains does not exist”.

She refused many jobs in other Gulf countries: AlMaimani desperately asked the authorities, the uses of opening training institute on aviation if there are no jobs for women especially in the absence of legislation from the General Authorities to prevent women from flying planes in Saudi Arabia and allow them to practice as a hobby.

AlMaimani said that many women pilots are working in this field in many other Arab countries like UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, and Lebanon but they were not allowed in Saudi Arabia.

AlMaimani also described that some Gulf Airlines demanded the experience saying, How can we accomplish you if the Saudi themselves does not give you a chance and take the lead?

AlMaimani is currently working in an airline in the department of safety and security and is in a hope to get a job as a pilot and fly a national airline plane.