More than two decades after she first entered a cockpit, Captain Huda Al Musallami has taken on a role no Emirati woman has held before: certified pilot instructor. The distinction, announced by Etihad Airways, places her at the front of the classroom and the simulator, where she now shapes the pilots who will follow her.
Her instructor certification came in 2026, the latest turn in a career that started in 2003. Al Musallami joined Etihad in 2014 and climbed steadily, earning her Captain’s stripes in 2023 before qualifying to train others three years later. In her opening months as a training Captain, she worked with pilots drawn from a range of nationalities and experience levels, guiding them at various points in their development.
She frames the work as more than a job. For Al Musallami, instructing carries the weight of national service, a chance to hand down what she has gathered across 20-plus years of flying.
That experience is considerable. Certified on the Boeing 787, she has logged upward of 10,000 hours in the air, with earlier time on the Airbus A330 and A340 and the Boeing 777. Her credentials extend beyond the flight deck as well: a Bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management and a Master’s in Business Administration and Information Systems.
Dr Nadia Bastaki, who oversees human resources, government and organizational affairs at the airline, tied the accomplishment to a broader national ambition. She described it as proof of what emerges when ability meets resolve and the right opening.
“At Etihad Airways, we fly the ambitions of our beloved nation high, and Captain Huda’s achievement is the best example of what talent creates when combined with determination and opportunity,” Bastaki said.
According to Bastaki, Al Musallami is clearing a path for other Emirati women in the field while helping build up the pilots who will define the carrier’s coming years. She linked the milestone to the leadership’s aim of positioning women as trailblazers across every sector.
At Etihad, that push is already visible in the numbers: Emirati women make up 75 percent of the airline’s Emirati workforce, filling posts that run from the cockpit to senior leadership.
