Achievements – Sheikha Mozah Marwan

Aviation

Believing in your
abilities & overcoming
great challenges

Believing in your abilities and overcoming great challenges inspires the confidence to reach even higher. For Sheikha Mozah, the intense study sessions during her ground school training triggered her decision to join Emirates, the UAE’s national carrier and the largest airline in the Middle East, with thousands of international flights every week.

I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn to fly… I’ll do what it takes till I touch the sky

- Sheikha Mozah

There are several stages of training required to achieve a commercial pilot license. Sheikha Mozah had to learn to fly in bad weather, through clouds, thunderstorms and endlessly still night skies.

“I enjoyed every moment of it. I had to learn to believe in myself and my abilities to face check flights with a positive attitude… there is always something to learn, like being humble and accepting my mistakes as learning opportunities. Every time we fly a new aircraft we have to go back to ground school first, which, for us pilots, is a lot like being grounded. We are itching every second to go back up in the sky and just fly.”

When Sheikha Mozah, having achieved her type rating on the Boeing 777, was appointed in Emirates Airlines in 2015, she became Dubai’s first royal female pilot, marking a milestone for not only the Gulf region but also the Middle East.

On her first passenger flight – Emirates EK901, from Dubai to Amman in Jordan – her proud mother was there all the way.

“My mother always promised me she would be on my first passenger flight. She not only kept her promise but came along with friends and created the most amazing atmosphere on that flight. Maybe she was the reason I wasn’t feeling nervous. I was proud and excited and the adrenaline was so high! She made my most beautiful flight. My family has been so supportive and for that, I will forever be grateful.”

Emirati women are, indeed, reaching for the sky thanks to the UAE’s leadership and heritage culture of family support. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, posted on Instagram on the occasion of Sheikha Mozah’s first Emirates flight, sharing his pride in his fearless young cousin’s achievement with his millions of followers.

In turn, Sheikha Mozah has set this memorable image as her personal profile picture (on Instagram), along with her mantra:

“I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn to fly… I’ll do what it takes till I touch the sky”

AVIATION

SERVING THE
PEOPLE IN UAE

Sheikha Mozah’s loyalty to her country, her admiration and appreciation of the leadership, and love for her community led her to also put her flying knowledge to serve in the Dubai Police Air Wing.

In 2019, she became the First Lieutenant Pilot at Dubai Police and the first female to attain this position, before being promoted to Captain Pilot in 2023. It is a job that Sheikha Mozah does with pride and gratitude in full awareness of the responsibility it carries for her country and for the public and philanthropic impact of her role.

A PASSION FOR POLO

sport of kings

Anciently, Polo is a sporting tradition played by wealthy people, like kings and royal families in the Middle east, for this reason, it was called the ‘sport of kings’. Sheikha Mozah comes from a long line of skilled horsemen and women.

Al Maktoum family seems to carry their passion for the power and elegance of horses through the generations and it has even been said that the love of horses runs in the DNA of the ruling family of Dubai. Sheikha Mozah’s late grandfather, Sheikh Maktoum and his brothers, Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan, shared the ownership of the world-famous Godolphin Stables.

The speed, skill, strategy, and determination of a hard-fought polo match is Sheikh Mozah’s perfect kind of spare time. In 2018, she formed the King Pins polo team in Dubai, which has quickly proved that they are not a side to be taken lightly! Among other wins, the King Pins lifted the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club Commemoration Cup in December 2019, with Sheikha Mozah as the playing patron.

DAREDEVIL ANTICS & A GUINESS WORLD RECORD

Every flight is different and the adrenaline rush never ends

Sheikha Mozah was just 12 when she first got into the cockpit of an aircraft. She had no notion of all the theoretical knowledge required take the plane off the ground and through the sky.

“Every flight is different and the adrenaline rush never ends. I had finally found my home.”

The seeds of aviation had been planted and the young Sheikha began exploring all the possible things that could be done up in the sky. She took aerobatic flying lessons starting on the Bulldog, followed by the Slingsby Firefly, and then the Extra 300, which Sheikha Mozah says is her ultimate favorite as it is easy to flip around and maneuver.

Next, she was stepping out of the cockpit and onto the wing of the aircraft in a heart-stopping acrobatic hobby known as wing walking.

Before I knew it, I was hooked and, as with everything I do, I wanted to test my limits. How many rolls could this aircraft do while I was standing on top of it? Well, the answer is 10… and it was officially achieved in 2013 as a Guinness World Record!

- Sheikha Mozah