EMIRATI FLYING HIGH AFTER PILOTING THE POPE
▶ Captain Abdulla Obaid was also responsible for delivering the Flame of Hope to Abu Dhabi, writes Gillian Duncan
They called and told me I would fly the Pope. I would have fought for it, but I was lucky just to be offered the chance CAPTAIN ABDULLA OBAID Etihad pilot
It may only be March, but 2019 is already turning into a very good year for Capt Abdulla Obaid.
First, he was responsible for flying Pope Francis home from Abu Dhabi. Then, he ferried the Flame of Hope torch to the capital for the Special Olympics World Games.
Although he is no stranger to flying VIPs – previous passengers have included royalty and the Manchester City squad – Capt Obaid’s special missions have been piling up since he flew the Pope back to Rome last month after the pontiff’s historic Mass.
“After you guys started putting me in the newspaper, I have been given a few,” says Capt Obaid, 45, an Emirati from Abu Dhabi.
But it could have all been so different. Capt Obaid was by no means destined to become a pilot. His father had hoped he would join the military, like four of his older brothers had.
His father even enrolled him in a military school from fifth grade onwards. But Capt Obaid was never entirely convinced, and once he graduated from high school he attended university before deciding to become a pilot.
Abu Dhabi had shares in Gulf Air, so he trained with the airline before being offered the opportunity to join Emirates.
“At that time you hardly saw civil pilots from the UAE,” he says. “The day I saw Etihad had started in Abu Dhabi I was happy because it is the national airline and it’s home. So I called them as soon as they started and they said ‘we fly only Airbus’ – and I fly only Boeing.”
But a year later, he had his chance after Etihad bought its first Boeing plane.
“I was contacted by them and I joined. I was batch one – the first batch of pilots to join Etihad’s Boeing fleet,” he says.
At that time, Etihad had only about 10 Emirati pilots, most of whom joined from Gulf Air. And the airline was very different.
“There were no fancy buildings. It was all wooden caravans and we would go from classroom to classroom outside,” Capt Obaid says.
“Now, Mashallah, it’s fancy and big. It’s a big airline with all these nice facilities. It’s changed a lot.”
Joining as a second officer, he has steadily worked his way through the ranks, receiving his command in 2008.
“It’s a good feeling, a big responsibility because I was No 2 for a long time. They don’t give you the command until you go through a lot of courses,” Capt Obaid says.
And he has continued to rise through the ranks ever since, becoming a trainer first and then a pilot examiner. Capt Obaid is currently on a break from working as an examiner to give him more time to fly, which is just as well, given the high-profile assignments he has been receiving.
The request to fly the Pope came first. The airline was looking for an experienced Emirati captain to pilot the pontiff’s plane on the return leg to Rome.
“They called me and said, ‘you will fly the Pope’. I would have fought for it, but I was lucky to just be offered [the chance],” he says.
Capt Obaid and the crew prepared meticulously for the flight, practising the approach to the airport near the Vatican many times and taking classes to teach them about the protocol.
“They said he’s supposed to go this way and not supposed to shake hands with people, but he always breaks it,” he says.
“In fact, I was shocked because as soon as he walked into the aircraft, he came to the cockpit to shake hands with us.
“He doesn’t give you the feeling that he’s a very important person. He gives you the feeling that he’s a normal person. It was an honour to meet him.”
The next honour followed quickly after – the chance to fly the Flame of Hope to the UAE late last month. There were two flames placed on board his plane, one of which was a backup.
“They took many precautions. They even changed the type of aircraft because of safety, to be closer to the gate,” Capt Obaid says.
“They blocked the first two rows of economy and put the flames in the middle. They were fixed on a table and the table was fixed to the seat. So whatever happened, the table would not fall down.”
He is now waiting for further details of a special assignment – his third in as many months.
“I don’t know where it is,” he says. “But [my boss] said: ‘I need to send you on these dates.’ It’s been a good year.”