An Iraqi woman from Kurdistan, Iraq, has officially become the first female to fly a Boeing 737-800 plane for the local airline Iraqi Airways, Al Hurra reported on Thursday.
The 26-year-old pilot, Warte Abubair Ali, earned her certification in civil aviation in 2015 in Denmark and has recently been hired to fly Iraqi Airways' Boeing 737 flights.
Ali was born in the Sulaimani Province in 1991; she is the first Kurdish woman in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to earn a license to operate large-size planes.
In a statement, Iraq's Minister of Transportation, Kazem Finjan al-Hamami, congratulated Ali on her success in obtaining her license.
Al-Hamami also said that Ali's achievements will pave the way for other Iraqi women to pursue careers in the aviation industry.
Ali was congratulated by officials upon the completion of her historic flight
Not the first stride for Iraqi women in aviation
Even though Ali's flight has made history in the country, this isn't the first stride for Iraqi women in aviation.
Josephine Haddad, Iraq's first ever female pilot, took the the skies in 1949, according to Al Hurra.
Decades later, in 2015, another Iraqi woman referred to in press releases only as Dalia, made history when she became Iraqi Airways' first female commercial airline pilot.
According to Al Arabiya, she is believed to be the company's first female pilot since its inception in 1945.
Back then, the Iraqi minister of transport Baqer al-Zubaidi had congratulated her on her achievements during a visit to London, where she had completed her education.
