Chadian aviator
Captain Zenab Issa Oki |
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| Born | 1986 |
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| Citizenship | Chad |
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| Occupation | Pilot |
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Zenab Issa Oki Soumaïne (born 1986) is an aviator and the first woman from Chad to become an aircraft captain.
Biography
Oki graduated with a baccalaureate in 2003, and in 2005 began to study in Sabangali for a degree in finance.[1] She later decided to move to a career in aviation and her first pilot's licence was awarded in Miami for a Hawker 900XPI.[2][better source needed]
On 3 May 2017 Oki was promoted to captain, becoming the first woman from Chad to captain an aircraft.[3] She studied at Ethiopian Airlines' Pilot Academy and completed 1,500 hours of flight before graduation.[3] At her graduation ceremony, the First Lady of Chad, Hinda Deby Itno, encouraged the audience to give Oki a standing ovation.[3] The ceremony was held at the Hilton Hotel in N’Djamena, the capital and largest city of Chad.[4]
Oki worked for Air Burkina before joining the presidential air fleet in Chad.[3] In 2019 she was employed by the president of Chad as a pilot.[5] Her achievement is seen as a role model for other young women from Chad.[4]
References
