These days Maisa has wide-ranging responsibilities, from issuing approval certificates to air operators to reviewing ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) changes and adapting them into Bahrain CAA’s regulations and procedures. Before that, she was an aircraft operations inspector. So, basically, if you’ve flown out of Bahrain International Airport in the last few years, Maisa probably made sure it was safe for you to do so.
Flying High
She says: “It all started when I was doing my training to be an air traffic controller. That’s the time I fell in love with aircraft. I decided one day ‘I will be a pilot. I am going to fly those things!’
“Being there in the tower watching the aircraft taking off and landing and hearing all that power, you fall in love; I find them magnificent machines.
“During that time, Gulf Air, for the first time in 10 years, opened up the cadet training programme to women. I applied and was called in to go through the selection process and exams and screening. And then I received that call to tell me I was selected. We were 10 and I was the only female in that first group.
“It wasn’t what I expected. It was very difficult. It’s a tough, dry, rigid field. I felt I had to put in extra effort and work harder to grasp knowledge of all the machines and the various aircraft instruments. But, eventually I succeeded. One-and-a-half years is actually very quick to do the theory, ground school and start flying.
“I started at 6am to do classes and then flying. Eventually I adapted, because during that time I realised how much I really wanted it and I pushed myself to succeed and adapt.
“Failure would have meant a lot – it would not just be the failure of one of the pilot cadets but rather the failure of the first female on the cadet programme. They [Gulf Air] believed in me and I wanted to make them proud. I was surrounded by great people who lifted me when I was down and, with this sort of attitude, you really want to succeed.”
Flight school teaches pilots about small aircraft and, once they’ve done that, they do their type rating, which is where you learn to fly a jet. Soon Maisa qualified and became the airline’s first female first officer.
Flying Safe
After some years in the sky, Maisa grounded herself to be around her young family. But, aircraft now very much in her blood, she joined the Civil Aviation Authority three-and-a-half years ago as an aircraft operations inspector.
It was while on the ground that she got her captain’s title and took up her current role. She says: “We are responsible for ensuring all the ICAO and Bahrain CAA rules and regulations are adhered to. For example, en route you will get on board and supervise the operation of the cockpit and cabin, ramp inspection and crew and cabin safety equipment, as well as crew licensing. On the ground, you will look at dispatchers and pilot training [ensuring current qualifications, etc] for operators that are registered in Bahrain. It takes up an awful lot of time; there are hundreds of inspections to do annually.
“And, of course, since I am inspecting and assessing pilots, I also need to keep my own type ratings current.
“If young women want to come into this field [flying], I would say it’s not always a great career. You have to be strong and tough and able to make decisions, sometimes very quickly. You then come home and you’re not in that role and it’s hard – it can be like having two personalities.
“Also, after all the glamour is gone – looking at yourself in your hat and suit – it’s about being away, being alone in hotel rooms. And you don’t have time to recover, specially if you have family. Nobody told me about that side of the job; I learned it on my own so I can tell girls about this.
“Sometimes, you’ll be flying through a thunderstorm and it is draining. Or, after a long flight, sometimes you don’t even have the energy to speak!
“It’s certainly not as easy as people think, but I wouldn’t change it. I really enjoyed my time flying. Yes, there is the dark side and the difficulties. But it’s also the most rewarding and satisfying job and I am proud of what I’ve achieved.”
