SAE2023 – Focus on Women in Aviation Strong in Saudi Arabia

At the Saudi Airport Exhibition (SAE2023), there has been a big focus on women in aviation working within Saudi Arabia and overseas.

Within the Kingdom, there is expected to be demand for 32,000 jobs by the end of this decade, with the General Assembly calling for women to be a part of that in Saudi Arabia.

Despite the strict restrictions on women in the Kingdom, this does appear to be relaxing a lot more as time goes on.

In line with the Vision 2030 program, it remains clear that the country is focusing on development and liberalisation, which offers significant premise for those in the Kingdom.

Sitting Down in Saudi Arabia With The Role Model of Woman in Aviation: Yara Jan…

AviationSource got to sit down with Yara Jan, the youngest female pilot in Saudi Arabia.

Yara started out her aviation career with NEXUS Flight Operations Services as a Operations Trainee before heading over to Gama Aviation for a further nine-month internship.

By February 2021, she became an airline pilot with low-cost carrier flyadeal.

JF: Yara, thank you for taking the time to speak to AviationSource. You are the youngest female pilot in Saudi Arabia. How does it feel to have that accolade?

YJ: To sum it up, it’s overwhelming, but it’s amazing. I would never think that I would reach this point in my career five, ten years ago. Establishing this pathway in the Kingdom is amazing. I’m so proud of all these achievements.

JF: A big focus at the Saudi Airport Exhibition has been the Women in Aviation General Assembly. How important is it to have female representation in the industry?

YJ: It’s very important. Half of the society [in the Kingdom] is female, so you cannot just ignore half of society. This is about building a future, a presentable path we are going into, which means you have to use both genders. So representing women is key, as it’s always been male-dominated, and this will equalize the whole sector.

JF: What advice would you give to young and aspiring females who want to be pilots or want to work in the aviation industry in Saudi Arabia?

YJ: Just pursue your dreams. Your country is supporting you, your people are supporting you. So it’s shame on you if you don’t pursue your dream. [In the Kingdom], we are dreamers. We are the people of the future. We are the younger generations. Basically, go for it.

JF: As we have seen in the industry, Aviation is expanding very quickly in Saudi Arabia. How excited are you for the future of aviation in the Kingdom?

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YJ: It’s expanding very quickly. We are trying to be on the same page as everyone else. It is exciting, and with the support of the Kingdom and the plans they have already established, it’s becoming way clearer. It’s very positive.

JF: What do you feel the industry needs to do more of to ensure that we have a better split of representation in aviation?

YJ: To have better representation, you have to look for the qualifications. I am not asking to ignore the other gender. I’m just asking to equalize certifications and whoever has enough expertise and whoever works harder should be getting it. So it’s not always about women and men. It’s a society where we all have to contribute. Each one of us completes the other. So that’s my vision to it.

JF: Is there anything else you would like to say to our readers?

YJ: Whenever you are passionate about something, get creative. When you get creative, your name is going to be history. People will keep remembering you. So being passionate means you have a future vision. It means you would contribute in creating a future, especially in Saudi Arabia. So just keep dreaming, pursue your dreams and believe yourself. Nothing is every impossible.

Overall…

It remains clear that the progression towards getting Women in Aviation in Saudi Arabia continues to progress well.

People like Yara are examples of where the Kingdom intends to take aviation, especially in line with it’s Vision 2030 strategy.

With new airlines and airports emerging, so does a whole new ecosystem that has been built by the kingdom.

All eyes will be on how this progresses over the next few years, as Saudi Arabia is very keen on being the best in the world for this.

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