Amna Khaled Al-Obaidli:First Qatari female pilot says it wasn’t easy

NT Bureau

Doha: Amna Khaled Al-Obaidli, the first female Qatari pilot at Qatar Airways, has stressed the importance of insisting on success in any field, no matter how difficult it is and the challenges associated with it.

Speaking during the ‘Al-Sabah Rabah’ programme on Al Rayyan TV on Wednesday, she said that joining Qatar Airways and piloting planes was not among her ambitions at the beginning of her academic life.

She explained: “I started my studies at Qatar University and learned about the Aviation College. When my brother wanted to join, I went with him. We joined the college together and started studying at the same time.”

She added: “After graduation, I joined Qatar Airways and began training to become a co-pilot, after which I began working as a co-pilot on an Airbus 320, then on Airbus 330, and then an Airbus 350. After accumulating hours, training, and courses, and counting the experiences I had gained, I reached the position of a captain.”

Amna Al-Obaidli’s arrival as the first Qatari woman to reach the rank of a captain was not easy. In the interview, she spoke of the difficulty of studying and working and the many challenges she faced, especially as she is a woman in a field in which the majority of people working are men, noting that she overcame this issue because she entered this field with her brother, stressing that it was a challenge for her to study and continue on the path.