Captain Maryam Masood and First Officer Shumaila Mazhar
Captain Maryam Masood and First Officer Shumaila Mazhar

Captain Maryam Masood and First Officer Shumaila Mazhar made history last week as they became the first female crew to land a plane in Gilgit.

The Islamabad-to-Gilgit flight is said to be a "very challenging and requires a lot of precision and technique" by Pakistan International Airline itself and the duo's success has gone viral over social media.

PIA sat with their two star pilots to learn about their journey:


Shumaila Mazhar had a similar story except that she "always wanted to become a pilot" and "never thought of anything else in my life."

"My cousin made model planes and would fly them at Seaview and I would tag along just to look at them in the air. One time I said 'I want to fly them' and cousin just said 'Why not? You can.' That was all the motivation I needed. My family was just as taken aback as Maryam's. It took me a year but I convinced them and now they support me more than anything."



Also read: 5 ridiculous responses to female pilots flying to Gilgit

About their photo going viral and the duo being touted as the first female crew to land a plane in Gilgit, Maryam made a note about female empowerment saying, "There are barely any fields in Pakistan where there are no women. I myself was the fourth woman to join PIA but even when we're few we're there. The three women senior to me had their share of difficulty and paved the way for me. And I want to carry that on and improve whatever they did and hope women after me will do the same."

She added about being a pilot, "It's a very safe and decent profession and the overall response has been so wonderful and it's always like this. Whenever people find out the pilot is a woman they get excited and want to meet."

Maryam revealed that this excitement over a Pakistani female pilot is not restricted to Pakistan alone but abroad as well. "Even flying planes to America and Paris, we'd see the people over there be even more stunned than people here. They were very excited and impressed that Pakistan has female pilots."

We're glad Maryam and Shumaila had the opportunity to represent her country and we hope their courageous journeys inspire young Pakistani women to pursue their dreams too.