First All Female Crew of Brunei Airlines Plane from Brunei to Jeddah land in Saudi Arabia

Royal Brunei Airlines introduced its first ever all-female flight crew which made their first journey to Saudi Arabia, a country where women are still not allowed to drive.

An image shared by Royal Brunei’s Instagram account on February 23,2016 shows female flight crew Captain Sharifah Czarena and senior first officers Sariana Nordin and Dk Nadiah Pg Khashiem sitting in the cabin of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Brunei to Jeddah

The landmark moment coincided with Brunei’s National Day which marks the state’s full independence from the UK in 1984.

 

To mark Brunei’s National Day, which celebrates the country’s independence, Captain Sharifah Czarena Surainy, Senior First Officer Dk Nadiah Pg Khashiem and Senior First Officer Sariana Nordin flew flight BI081 to the Middle Eastern country on February 23


The occasion came just over three years after Captain Czarena became the first female captain of a flag carrier in Southeast Asia

Captain Sharifah Czarena old “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. It’s really showing the younger generation or the girls especially that whatever they dream of, they can achieve it.”
In 2015, Saudi Arabia for the first time allowed women to cast their vote in municipal elections, a decision taken by the late King Abdullah and is seen as a crucial part of his legacy.

In 2012, Sharifah Czarena made history by becoming the first female captain of a flag carrier airline in Southeast Asia. And in December 2013, Sharifah Czarena became the first Royal Brunei pilot to fly out of London Heathrow in its flagship Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Sariana Nordin, meanwhile, was Brunei’s first ever female pilot, and has been flying with Royal Brunei Airlines since 2006.

All female crews are becoming more common as more women train to be pilots – several international airlines were able to operate long-haul flights staffed by female pilots to coincide with Women of Aviation Worldwide Week (March 7 – 13).