The first female Emirati cadet pilots from Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, have graduated from flight training alongside nine male colleagues and gained their airline transport pilot licence (ATPL).

The cadet pilots Etihad’s second group to graduate, which included Salma Al-Baloushi and Aisha Al-Mansouri, were conferred with their flying wings in a ceremony at the airline’s training academy.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “Everyone at Etihad is delighted that Salma and Aisha – our first female cadet pilots – have made history as the first women to graduate from the programme.”

The cadets started the pilot programme course in September 2007 and now have the rank of second officers at Etihad Airways.

As second officers the pilots will undertake a multi-crew co-operation course and an Airbus A320 type conversion course which will enable them to fly as co-pilots on the Etihad Airways Airbus A320 short haul fleet.

The cadet pilots will spend much of the time during the type conversion course in Etihad’s A320 full-flight simulator as well as training in the development of non-technical skills applicable to working in a multi-crew environment.

After approximately six months they complete their final checks and will qualify as A320 first officers.

In order to gain the frozen ATPL the cadet pilots had to complete 750 hours of classroom tuition and 205 hours of flight training in single and multi-engine aircraft. During this time they all passed the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority’s theoretical knowledge and flying exams. – TradeArabia News Service