Although being a Saudi woman pilot is new, it is not impossible for our generation, especially with backing from our beloved country and respected leaders

Saudi female pilot.

Having graduated from flight school in Florida back in 2019, Jan is relatively new to flyadeal as she joined just a year ago. Nonetheless, she could not feel any more proud about having taken part in such a historic moment in the aviation for Saudi women as she celebrated.

"As a Saudi woman trying to lead my country with a proud step it was a moment of pride and joy. Although being a Saudi woman pilot is new, it is not impossible for our generation, especially with the backing that we are receiving from our beloved country and our respected leaders, who have supported me a lot to become the youngest female pilot in a Saudi airline. I will always be pleased to have the chance to make a positive change," she said.

The country's civil aviation authority, which confirmed the announcement, has been working towards expanding roles for women in the sector for years.

In 2019, Yasmeen al Maimani, then 29, became the first female first officer to fly a mainstream commercial plane in the kingdom. The Saudi woman piloted Nesma Airlines flight ATR 72-600 from Hail to Al Qassim on June 9.

"I thought it was going to be hard, being a female pilot based in Hail but it hasn't been," she said at the time. "I feel so comfortable with everyone else here, and the way they treat me. It's like they are all my brothers, it's a good feeling," Maimani said.

According to reports, figures showed female participation in the kingdom's workforce rose to 33 per cent at the end of 2020, from 19 per cent in 2016, according to data from the General Authority for Statistics.

Saudi Arabia aims to generate 356bn riyals (US$95bn) of investment into its aviation sector by 2030.

Its National Aviation Sector Strategy is working to increase connections from Saudi Arabia to 250 destinations, reaching 330 million passengers.

The kingdom also plans to launch another airline to complement its existing national carriers, including Saudia, and to build a major international airport in Riyadh, in addition to eight more regional airports.

Flight F3 117 is just one of the significant differences that Flyadeal carries as opposed to other Saudi airlines, as the budget carrier has over 55 female employees working in all departments, both onboard and on the ground, including air operations, ground operations, human resources, marketing, finance, information technology, etc.