Hanadi Zakaria al-Hindi facts for kids

Hanadi Zakaria al-Hindi is a very important person in Saudi Arabia. She is known for being the first Saudi woman to become a pilot. This was a huge step forward for women in her country.

Hanadi's Journey to the Skies

Hanadi was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in September 1978. She always dreamed of flying. To make her dream come true, she studied at the Middle East Academy for Commercial Aviation. This school is located in Amman, Jordan.

She worked very hard and passed all her final exams. This happened on June 15, 2005. After graduating, Hanadi signed a special ten-year contract. She became a pilot for Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal's company, Kingdom Holding Company. Her job was to fly his private jet, which is called the Kingdom.

A Pioneer for Women

Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal was a big supporter of Hanadi. He helped pay for her flight training. When she graduated, he said he fully supports Saudi women working in all kinds of jobs. This showed how important her achievement was.

In 2014, Hanadi al-Hindi became fully certified to fly planes within Saudi Arabia. This meant she could officially pilot aircraft in her home country.

At the time, many people found it interesting that a Saudi woman could fly an airplane, but women were not allowed to drive cars. However, this rule changed in 2017, and now women in Saudi Arabia can drive cars. Hanadi herself did not see this as a problem. Her success opened doors for many other women in Saudi Arabia. She showed that with hard work and support, anything is possible.