Jordan princess makes history: First woman in kingdom to complete jet pilot training

“Brilliant and hard-working as always! Congrats on receiving your wings,” the monarch wrote to his daughter on Instagram.

By World Israel News Staff

Jordan has announced that a princess has become the first female in the kingdom to complete training to fly a plane.

“His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, on Wednesday presented Her Royal Highness Princess Salma bint Abdullah II with her wings after completing theoretical and practical pilot training, at a ceremony attended by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II,” the Royal Hashemite Court announced on its website.

“Her Royal Highness is the first young Jordanian woman to complete preliminary pilot training on fixed wing aircraft,” it said.

Princess Salma, 19, is one of three children and the only daughter of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Abdullah, noted The National, a Middle East news source.

“Brilliant and hard-working as always! Congrats on receiving your wings and here’s to more success and achievements,” King Abdullah wrote on his Instagram account, posting a photo of presenting his daughter with her wings.

“Princess Salma’s training follows her graduation from Britain’s prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in November 2018,” The National reported. 

“The royal court has not yet made a statement regarding Princess Salma’s military responsibilities or future training following the awarding of her wings,” it added.

Though the princess is the first Jordanian woman jet pilot, the kingdom’s first female helicopter pilot was Cadet Aya Basheer Ibrahim Alsourany, who was trained in Pennsylvania at the end of 2018, according to the U.S. Army, as noted by The Jerusalem Post.