- An all-female-flight crew were on board a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on flight BI081 from Brunei to Jeddah on February 24
- Captain Sharifah Czarena Surainy, Senior First Officer Dk Nadiah Pg Khashiem and Senior First Officer Sariana Nordin flew flight BI081 to mark Brunei’s National Day
- The International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA) estimated that there are about 4,000 women pilots worldwide, out of the 130,000 total
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – An all-female flight crew of Royal Brunei Airlines landed in Saudi Arabia; a country where ladies are not allowed to drive a car. This meant that the lady pilots needed to be picked from the airport and driven around the area by men drivers.
Helena Horton mentioned in her article for The Telegraph published on March 15 that the all-female-flight crew were onboard a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on flight BI081 from Brunei to Jeddah on February 24.
Reports said that an aircraft driven by an all-female crew was a landmark moment for the airline especially that it was done in Saudi Arabia. While there is no official law banning women from driving in Saudi Arabia, local clerics are arguing that female drivers “undermine social values.”
Royal Brunei Airlines said in a statement that they are actively encouraging more women to pursue careers as pilots. To encourage the female to join the industry, the airline introduced an aircraft engineer apprentice program for both men and women.
Photo Credit: Tampabay
Serina Sandhu mentioned in her article for Independent published on March 15 that Captain Sharifah Czarena Surainy, Senior First Officer Dk Nadiah Pg Khashiem and Senior First Officer Sariana Nordin flew flight BI081 to mark Brunei’s National Day.
“Being a pilot, people normally see it as being a male dominant occupation. As a woman, a Bruneian woman, it is such a great achievement,” Czarena said in a previous interview.
“It’s really showing the younger generation or the girls especially that whatever they dream of, they can achieve it. These women are flying the flag,” she added.
Alison Lynch mentioned in her article for Metro published on March 15 that all female crew had been more common and more women had been trained to be pilots; with several airlines now operating long-haul flights with them.
Last year, the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA) estimated that there are about 4,000 women pilots worldwide; out of the 130,000 total. The female pilots comprise about over three per cent of the total.
Captain Czarena was trained at the Cabair Flying School in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and flies on a number of the airline’s major routes. In 2012, Czarena made history by becoming the first female captain of a flag carrier airline in Southeast Asia. Then in December 2013, she became the first Royal Brunei pilot to fly out of London Heathrow in its flagship Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
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