The Sky is the Limit: Iran Air to Hire Female Pilots for the First Time

Another milestone in sexual equality has been demonstrated in Iran as women have been permitted to fly planes for years, but they have never been allowed to work for the country’s national airline until now.

Iran’s flagship airline, Iran Air, is now hiring female pilots in what has been hailed as a significant move for the women of the country.

The company released a new recruitment advertisement for a new generation of pilots earlier this month and the announcement of this decision was made by the airline’s chief executive Farzaneh Sharafbafi, the first women to hold that position in the airline’s history.

“This is highly significant for us to have female pilots among our personnel,” Tehran Times reported Sharafbafi as saying.

This year’s advertisement let women know that they are welcome to apply to be pilots, according to the newspaper.

In her announcement, Sharafbafi also said that the first women hired as pilots by the company will begin working as co-pilots.

"Women can play a key role in the social development as well as the realization of social justice in a society," she said. 

"Today, the world is paying more serious attention to the role of women in society,” Sharafbafi added.

Iran Air, headquartered in Tehran, flies to 25 domestic destinations and dozens of other cities in Asia and Europe.