Wind beneath her wings

Understandably, women were not the first to become pilots in the aviation industry back in the nineties. There were hardly any female pilots on commercial airlines. As Zoya reveals, even global giants like Singapore Airlines, Etihad and Emirates, have only recently adopted the idea of having women captains on their flights. She adds, “Back then, airlines were not really keen on training women pilots. They used to think that the woman will eventually have a child, go off on maternity leave, and when she returns, she’ll have to be trained again. It wasn’t a very popular notion at the time.” And that’s why, even after she graduated from aviation school, Zoya was jobless for a few years. She used to take up odds jobs and train young kids in aviation, not to make money, but just to keep herself abreast with the industry and technology. “My father was extremely stressed out during this phase because he’d taken out so many loans, and there was hardly any income to repay all that,” she says.

Even when her golden chance arrived with the Air India exams, it was a long shot. She reveals, “Air India was the only Indian airline at the time that had international flights. When the Air India exams would be announced, commanders from other domestic airlines would enroll and apply for the same jobs because everyone dreamt of flying international.” When Zoya appeared for the exam, she competed with roughly 3000 to 4000 applicants for a mere seven job openings at Air India. She adds, “My dad got a heart attack just five days before my written exam with Air India, fearing that I might not make it. But God was kind and looked after me. I got through and have never looked back.”