Women in Aviation Meet Calls to Hone Skills of Women

• Mervat Sultan: Aviation industry should enable the new generation to receive proper education and training

• Educational institutions and training institutes should enroll more women

Mervat Sultan, President, Women in Aviation Middle East Chapter, addressing the Women in Aviation General Assembly at the Airport Show, said the aviation industry should now talk about how important is to hone the skills of women, how to get the new generation to receive proper education and training.

Women in Aviation 2022

“We have fewer women, let's have more women in aviation is old story. Now we are concentrating on how to give our new generation a proper education, prepare them to get involved in new technology as they are moving very fast,” she said.

As for the achievement of women, she said, “If you go to important aircraft, you can more or less see either the captain or the despatchers or the engineers are women. If you go to the Air Traffic Control Tower, there are ladies. But that is not enough."

“The pandemic has moved us 20 years in front, now we have technology which we are supposed to use after 20 years. This has given us the opportunity to get into the market of new technology. The new generation is well prepared, but we must make use of the educational institutions and training institutes for enrolling more women,” she added.

The Assembly hosted many sessions, which was addressed by HRH Prince Fahd bin Mishaal Al-Saud, Chairman of the Board, Saudi Aviation Club (SAC) and Chairman of GCC Aviation Authority.

“COVID-19 has fast-tracked the adoption of technology across the aviation industry. Airports, airlines, ANSPs, ground handlers and all other stakeholders used the pandemic downtime to rethink their operational processes and put in place new technologies that will enhance efficiency and safety once the industry returns to its previous levels,” she said.

Dr. Eng. Suaad Al Shamsi, Technical Advisor - Hub Operations and Midfield, Etihad Aviation Group, Jassim Mohamed Al Marzooqi, Human Capital Manager, Strata, Dr. Reem Labhar, Etihad, also addressed the session.

The panel discussed various challenges and opportunities in the aviation sector. Aviation Support Services are a critical component of the global aviation industry, providing fuelling, ground handling, catering and many other vital elements of support. These industries offer millions of jobs and have seen parallel growth over the years, in line with the booming aviation markets they serve. Facilitating commercial, general and military aviation - and in most cases serving other industries as well, the sector is lesser affected by events that impact aviation alone and offers career opportunities across multiple industries and global markets.

Speakers included Linn Tonsberg, Director Process Excellence, Air BP, Nadia M. Gharaybeh, Marketing Manager, DC Aviation Al-Futtaim, Snezhana Dimitrova Vakova, Manager Commercial at Executive Gourmet - Al Bateen Executive Airport, Abu Dhabi, Gategroup.

Organised by RX Global (Reed Exhibitions), the world’s largest airport industry B2B platform has a sharp focus on sustainability to help the aviation industry in achieving a more sustainable airport industry that is aiming to reduce carbon foot print year on year.

The 21st edition of the Airport Show was supported by Dubai Airports, Dubai Police, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), dnata (part of Emirates Airline and Group), Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP), Global Air Navigation Services (GANS), and Dubai Air Navigation Services (dans).