Saarah Hameed Ahmed

Saarah Hameed Ahmed (born 22 April 1989) is an Indian pilot from Bangalore, Karnataka. , she worked for SpiceJet.

Saarah later clarified that she had never claimed to be the first Indian Muslim woman pilot and was simply one amongst a few Muslim women pilots. She further clarified that she had never mentioned anything about Islamophobia or being treated badly.

Background Saarah Sabah Hameed Ahmed was born and raised in Bangalore, Karnataka. After completing a PUC at Jyothi Nivas College, in 2007 Ahmed enrolled in the Paris Air Flight Training School in Vero Beach, Florida. In the post 9/11 period of Islamophobia, she claims that most Muslim students were being denied US Visas, but she had little difficulty obtaining one.

According to Ahmed's father, in the traditional community in which she was raised, a woman's responsibility is to her home and children, with few seeking outside jobs without an escort.

Career After completion of her Bachelor of Business Administration and some 1200 flying hours, she was recruited by SpiceJet in 2010 as a commercial pilot. She was the first Muslim woman to be chosen in the aviation sector and for nearly two years, remained the only female Muslim pilot out of the 600 women employed in the Indian aviation industry. Her accomplishment has been inspirational in her community, encouraging other Muslim women to enroll in pilot training.