There’s not many women that can say they’re paving the way in a male-dominated field, but this rings true for Dr Nadia Bastaki – the first Emirati woman to be registered as a specialist in Aviation Aerospace medicine.
As the Vice President of Medical Services at Etihad, she is not only leading the way in the field for women, but has also been on the frontlines to ensure the health and safety of travellers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout the coronavirus outbreak, Dr Bastaki’s role has been “magnified and multiplied enormously”, as she describes to .
|I was leading the entire Etihad Aviation Group to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff across our entire operation,” she explains. “A heavy part of our focus was to also ensure safe and secure passenger travel.”
This has also included the launch of a new programme ‘Etihad Wellness’, which is a part of the Abu Dhabi-based airline’s new health and hygiene programme, to ensure we applied all the necessary precautionary measures for our guests.
The last six months has made Dr Bastaki make some serious sacrifices for the greater good of the nation and the safety of others.
“It has been a very long six months where I’ve had to prioritise the current situation by working late hour working hours – including weekends – and multiple sacrifices including being separated from family,” she admits.
However, she notes how the nation has “come a long way” and things with the pandemic have “drastically improved”. Despite this, she highlights that “we don’t drop the ball”.
“We need to continue understanding, learning and analysing the best way forward,” she says.
This Emirati Women’s Day, Dr Bastaki discusses with how she paving the way in her field of expertise, what makes her proud to be an Emirati woman and what she believes the future of travel holds for everyone.
Paving the way in a male-dominated field…
It feels great – it’s a big achievement. While it was important to be the first, it was more important to excel in what you do and be recognised as a leader and expert in my field. Also, I was the first woman to be promoted to the executive level within Etihad which was a big milestone in my career. Most importantly, it’s what difference you can make and how you as a woman can contribute to the success of the UAE.
What makes her proud to be an Emirati woman…
The sense of pride comes when you realise you have leaders that believe in women empowerment. We are blessed as a nation to have their support in making our dreams come true.
What this year’s theme of Emirati Women’s Day ‘Preparing for the next 50 years: women are the support of the nation’ means to her…
We are an important pillar of this nation and our success is the nation’s success. We are an important player and we need to ensure we play our role right in achieving our country’s vision, whether we are entrepreneurs, working women or stay-at-home mums, we all have an equal role to play in delivering, achieving, inspiring and motivating each other and the younger generation. Our focus should be making our nation number one.
The opportunities she is grateful for…
The Emirates has grown dramatically in the last couple of years but their values have always remained the same. It was late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s and Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum’s vision to empower and educate women to ensure they have a role in society. We are grateful for their vision which has given us the freedom to dream big and to achieve the unachievable.
How women can best support one another…
Listen, comfort, understand, encourage and promote each other. This is the way support should be. My support network has always been my mum, my sisters and women I cross paths with who inspire me on a daily bases. Their achievements have given me the motivation to do more.
How the pandemic impacted the world of travel…
The travel and tourism industry has been highly impacted due to border closures and travel restrictions. The aviation industry is facing major challenges but the overall economic impact of COVID-19 will be far greater.
What the future of aviation holds…
Well, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. In the aviation industry, we constantly face multiple challenges and we have been able to successfully navigate around them. This time, it’s different. The impact is bigger, but we will need to start thinking differently and remodel our thinking process to deliver a product and service that will differentiate us in the market.
The advice she would give to others…
Be patient and never give up on your dreams. If you can dream it, you can do it.
