26-year-old Kurdish woman first female certified to fly Iraqi Boeing 737 plane

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A Kurdish woman is the first female to receive a certificate allowing her to fly a Boeing 737-800 plane for the local airline "Iraqi Airways."

Warte Abubair Ali is a 26-years-old woman who earned her certification in civil aviation in 2015 in Denmark. She has been hired as a pilot for Iraqi Airways' Boeing 737 flights.

Ali was born in Sulaimani Province in 1991 and is the first Kurdish woman in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to earn a license to operate large-size planes.

In a statement on Sunday, the Minister of Transportation in Iraq Kazem Finjan al-Hamami congratulated the Kurdish pilot for her success in obtaining a Boeing 737-800 large-size pilot's license.

"The ministry has noted she met all the requirements of success and excellence from the finest institutes, and wishes her further success,” al-Hamami stated.

The Minister also mentioned that Ali’s success would pave the way for other Iraqi women desiring to work in the transport industry and play an active role in the workforce.

Editing by G. H. Renaud