International media reports says Iran’s flag carrier airline, Iran Air, released a new recruitment advertisement for a new generation of pilots earlier this month.
Iran Air CEO, Ms. Farzaneh Sharafbafi, says the most notable difference between this year’s recruitment and the ones in the previous years is the proclamation of the company’s policy to hire women pilots.
According to her, close to 4,000 women are working in Iran’s aviation industry. “A total of 1,780 women are employed by the flag carrier of the Islamic Republic of Iran, of whom 16% hold managerial positions,” Iran Air chief noted.
“In the job vacancy advertisement, it has been announced that after passing certain exams, the applicants will undergo a 6 to 8-month training course to get familiar with the basic regulations of Iran Civil Aviation Organization and Iran Air,” she said, noting that the selected applicants will then begin to work on a certain type of plane as co-pilots.
Farzaneh Sharafbafi is the first female top manager for Iran Air.
By decree issued by Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi Farzaneh Sharafbafi was appointed to head Iran Air in July 2017.
According to IRNA, the minister mandated Sharafbafi to structurally reform the Islamic Republic Airliner (Iran Air) so that it would be competitive globally and regionally.
Sharafbafi, 45, holds PhD in aerospace from Sharif University of Technology.
Iran Air, branded as The Airline of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is the flag carrier of Iran headquartered on the grounds of Mehrabad Airport in Tehran. As of 2018, it operates scheduled services to 69 destinations in Asia and Europe. Iran Air’s main bases are Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad Airport, both situated in Tehran, capital of Iran. Domestically, Iran Air is commonly known as Homa, which is the name of a mythical Persian griffin, and also the acronym of Iran National Airlines in the Persian language.
The airline's cargo division, Iran Air Cargo, operates scheduled services internationally using three cargo aircraft.
