Maliha Sami also spelt Maleeha Sami is a former commercial pilot from Pakistan. In 1990, she became the first woman from the country to fly a commercial airliner as first officer (1990). [1]
Sami is the only daughter amongst six siblings hailing from a conservative Muslim family from Quetta, Baluchistan, Pakistan. [2]
Sami worked for the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan (CAA) for more than six years, where she flew small, twin-engine aircraft as a navigational co-pilot. [2]
After 1989, Maliha was called by the Pakistan International Airlines to attend formal pilot training. [1] Amongst her batch mates was Ayesha Rabia Naveed, who would go onto become the first woman to captain a commercial airliner. [3] Sami flew her first flight as first officer in 1990. [1] In February 1994, Maliha became the first Pakistani woman pilot to operate a scheduled wide-body Airbus A-300 flight, on the Karachi-Quetta-Islamabad run. [2] [4] [5] Sami was also the first Pakistani woman pilot to operate a scheduled Fokker flight on the Karachi-Panjgur-Turbat-Gwadar sector in 1990. [2] [6] [7] Maliha became first woman pilot in the company to fly an Airbus A310 in 1996. [8] [4] [5]
Sami also attended several refresher and training courses in the United States. [2] She has also attended an intensive three-week training program in Kuala Lmpur, Malaysia. [2]