Noufa Al Afeefi: First UAE woman to become Air Traffic Control Area Officer

After undergoing an extensive training program that lasted three years, UAE national Noufa AlAfeefi has become the first UAE female national to receive UAE Air Traffic Control Area Certificate from the General Civil Aviation Authority, to commence her work at the Sheikh Zayed Air Navigation Centre, the region’s largest, most up-to-date air traffic control centre.

Noufa AlAfeefi realizes her unprecedented achievements, being the first female to become a UAE Air Traffic Control Area Officer– a job that requires specific skills. “Air Traffic Control has always been a male dominated aspect, and for a woman to work in the field is a huge challenge. It became more complicated considering the fact that I was the first UAE Woman to apply to this job in GCAA and succeed in such an early age of 22” she said.

“Training was hard and required huge efforts. Being the only female trainee among men was not a familiar thing and I was not taken seriously. But my determination and efforts have soon become appreciated by my colleagues, and I was accepted as one of them. I was really lucky to work with a great team that extended much need help and support,” she added.

Speaking on the most difficult challenges she faced, Noufa says: “The biggest challenge is working in shifts at various times of the day, which meant I needed to keep full focus in all times. Another challenge was the live training, where any slight mistake could have been catastrophic and cause fatalities.”

Noufa further explains the reasons for her choice of this particular field:“I have always been fascinated by large planes in the sky since I was a little child, and I always dreamed of flying aboard one of them. After graduation, I pursued this dream more seriously, with Air Traffic field, which came inline with my realization of the high complicacy of the global aviation sector and the relevant challenges. This made me even more determined, and I knew that was the career I want to assume. Luckily for me, the GCAA was encouraging the UAE youth to apply for job vacancies, so I seized the opportunity which appeared to be my only and best chance.”

“The UAE government continues to encourage and enable UAE women by providing them with the best ways for education and career growth. Being the first UAE woman to work as an UAE Air Traffic Control Officer at one of the best world traffic control centers, as well as one of the busiest skies in the Middle East, I would like to urge fellow women in the UAE to seize this great opportunity offered by the General Civil Aviation Authority to prove themselves and make their nation proud of them. I believe that women are capable of everything they want to achieve, and I would like to encourage them to pursue the most challenging careers.”

Commenting on her achievement as the first UAE woman to obtain the ATC certification, Saif Mohamed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the GCAA, said: “We at the GCAA have set key fundamentals to encourage nationals to join GCAA and work at its various departments, as we believe that the sector needs the support of nationals to realize its great potentials for a promising future, thanks to the great growth rates and performance improvements. Since the beginning, we opened the way to males and females to join and prove their abilities and challenge themselves, with no difference or discrimination.”

“Naufa completed intensive and long training programs, and showed a great deal of determination, challenge and desire to undertake the responsibilities of such a career to serve her nation. In this regard, we would like to assert that the way is open to all nationals willing to serve their country by working in the civil aviation sector,” said Ahmad Ibrahim al Jallaf, Acting Executive Director Air Navigation Services at GCAA.

Noufa AlAfeefi is 22 years, and holds several academic qualifications including a Certificate in Air Traffic Control from Christchurch, New Zealand, where she studied several ICAO subjects and received the ICAO 051 and 052 Aerodrome certificates, ICAO 054 Area Control Radar certificate and ICAO 055 Area Control Non-Radar. This is in addition to her high school certificate in the scientific stream, noting that the study was exclusively in English language.

In terms of practical experience, she has been working as a trainee in the General Civil Aviation Authority since October 2007 in Air Traffic Control at the Sheikh Zayed Air Navigation Centre. In her role, she conducts all aspects of Operations/ Air Traffic Service. The job holder is expected to play a significant role in providing service, safety and expeditious for the flow traffic. Air traffic control training took almost 3 years of training starting from college and including the on job training in Communication, Air traffic control assistant, Air traffic control simulator phase C2, Air traffic control  training (live traffic), which includes 850++ hours of controlling live traffic with a licensed instructor.