Flying on the wings of a dream

It has definitely been the road less travelled for 24-year-old Salma Al Beloushi, who has today become the first female Emirati co-pilot, or first officer. Salma said she has been fascinated by two things during her growing years airports and hospitals. After a year-and-a-half at nursing school, she decided to drop out and pursue her dream of flying. "These are the only places where you can find any nationality and any language. They are places where you can find people from everywhere," she told Gulf News. At that time, she had never been on an aircraft before. "My first flight was with Etihad to London," she said, which she described as a "scary" experience. "At that time, we had started our training at Al Ain." Today, ironically, she says the "coolest part" of the job is take-offs and landings. Salma made her maiden journey as a first officer on the June 9 Abu Dhabi-Athens trip. She has signed a contract with Etihad to fly their A320 aircraft. She joined Etihad in 2007 as part of the airline's second group of cadet pilots and received her wings in 2009 as a second officer. While Salma has now broken stereotypes and paved the way for other female Emiratis who want to take to the skies, for her this whole experience has been a life changing one on a personal level. She described herself as "shy" and "clumsy" girl before joining the Horizon International Flight Academy in Al Ain. However, being one of the few females in a male dominant field toughened her up, especially since culturally she wasn't brought up with interaction with other males, Salma explained. "My batchmates [at the Academy] are the ones who transformed me from shy Salma to brave Salma." Soon, she realised the responsibility that's been put upon her shoulders; it was when she saw her name in a book titled 100 Greatest Women in Aviation. "I realised I'm not just representing Salma anymore. I'm representing my family, my company and my country," she said. Salma couldn't be where she is today if she didn't have the whole-hearted support of her family. Her parents were the ones who answered any questions raised by friends and relatives about whether she, as a woman, should have pursued flying as a career path. "I really believe that I couldn't succeed in this if my mum wasn't there for me," she said. The eldest of four children, Salma is happy to set an example to her younger brother and two sisters. "My sister once made a project about me," she said laughing. "My younger sister clips newspaper articles and also records any TV interviews of me and shows it to her teachers." Even her grandmother checks when Salma is on duty. When it come to marriage and settling down, the young first officer, says that it is the least of her concerns, admitting that being asked to resign if she opts to get married is not something she would consider. "If he [the groom] is coming for me, he will never tell me that," she said. While flying will takes Salma to places around the world she's always dreamt of, she's not sure where her career is going to take her a few years down the line. "Until now, I believe I'm doing a good job, so I'm not thinking how long I'm going to fly," she said. "All I'm really thinking now: I have to fly. I want to fly. For how long? We'll see later." From / Gulf News