Garuda Indonesia operational director Novianto Herupratomo and Ida Fiqriyah, the flag-carrier's first female captain, on Wednesday (05/04). (Photo courtesy of Garuda Indonesia). |
Jakarta.
Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has appointed its first ever female captain, the
first major Indonesian airline to do so.
Ida
Fiqriyah was officially appointed as a captain on Wednesday (o5/04). She
regularly flies the narrow-body Boeing B737-800 NG and single-aisle aircraft
for Garuda. She has clocked in 10,585 flight hours in more than 18 years with
the flag-carrier, beginning her career in 1999 as a co-pilot.
A 1996
graduate of the Indonesian State Aviation School in Tangerang, Banten, Ida has
been flying all types of aircraft for Garuda Indonesia, including Boeing
B737-300, B737-400 and B737-500 and the wide-body Airbus A330-300 and A330-200.
"We
are an equal-opportunity employer. We always reward good performances,"
Garuda Indonesia operational director Novianto Herupratomo said in a statement
on Wednesday.
Novianto
said to become a captain is no easy task; pilots have to go through a lot of
hardships and face many challenging situations before they can even be
considered as a captain at Garuda Indonesia.
He also
said Ida's appointment as captain should inspire other Indonesian women to
pursue a career in aviation.
Garuda
Indonesia currently employs 30 female pilots out of a total of 1,380 pilots at
the company.
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