Ayesha Rabia Naveed is a former commercial pilot from Pakistan who flew for the national airline, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). In 2005, she became the first Pakistani woman to captain a scheduled commercial flight. In 2006 she was captain of the first all woman crew of a Pakistani passenger flight.

Early life

Naveed's father was a doctor who flew as a hobby. Her uncle was an airline pilot. As a result, she would visit flying clubs frequently. She started learning flying at a young age.

Career

Ayesha's inspiration was Shukriya Khanum, who was the first woman aviator in the country. Ayesha first got the Private Pilots' License. Then she got the Commercial Pilot's License. In 1980, she applied for a pilot for the Pakistan International Airlines and was selected. She also served as the Air Traffic Controller at the Lahore Airport for the

Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

. During the conservative rule of General Zia-ul-Haq, Ayesha had to abort her training and instead opted to be the Sales and Marketing professional for the airline. In 1989 she was asked to attend pilot training. In 1990, she became the second woman to fly a commercial flight as a first officer. In 2005, Ayesha became the first Pakistani woman captain of a commercial airline. She had 6000 flying hours at that time. She retired in 2017 as a Captain of the Airbus A310. By the time of her retirement she had flown

Fokker Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...

, Boeing 737,

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

Airbus 300 The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner. West ...

and Airbus 310.

Career achievements

* First all-women crew flight (2006) * First Pakistani woman captain of a commercial scheduled flight (2005) * Fist Pakistan International Airlines woman pilot on Fokker F27. * First woman captain on Fokker F27. * Flown to all destinations covered by the Pakistan International Airlines * Member of Pakistan Airline Pilots Association Club (PALPA)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naveed, Ayesha Rabia Living people Pakistani women aviators Women aviators Year of birth missing (living people) Pakistani aviators