In the days leading up to Tet, female pilot Vu Mai Khanh of Vietnam Airlines is still busy with flights. Taking advantage of the little time off before preparing for an international flight, female pilot Vu Mai Khanh had a happy conversation with VietNamNet reporters about her career.
From doubt to passion
With a bright face and full of energy, Mai Khanh excitedly talked about her journey to becoming a female pilot when she began basic training in early 2020.
“My choice to study to become a pilot came from the encouragement of my family. My father is a pilot in the Vietnam People's Air Force.
Perhaps because he understood my personality, interests, and also the profession, my father truly believed that this was the most suitable career for me, and strongly encouraged me to go to school and “try” to follow his path, even though I myself had many worries and doubts about my abilities… Meanwhile, the word “try” alone required a huge investment in both money and time.
However, I still listened to my father and registered to study to become a pilot right after graduating from the Academy of Journalism and Communication. I went to Australia to study after passing the pilot standard tests,” Mai Khanh shared.
According to Mai Khanh, after only the first practice flight, from the moment the plane floated in the sky, the pilot profession truly became her choice.
“My first flight was extremely memorable, and since then, being a pilot has been my passion. After more than a year of training, in mid-2023, I officially became a commercial pilot for Vietnam Airlines,” said Mai Khanh.
Piloting is a special profession, the job requires high demands, often has to be away from home, has irregular hours, especially night flights without sleep... so it is usually more suitable for men. However, Mai Khanh has broken the stereotypes, overcome personal worries to freely conquer the sky.
Mai Khanh shared that when many people learned that she chose to be a pilot, they wondered, "What difficulties do women face compared to men?"
She said: “The pilot profession has its own challenges, but whoever chooses this profession has clearly identified them in advance. These are common challenges and do not discriminate by gender. Perhaps there are just small things that girls will notice, such as hair and skin being drier than before.
However, these shortcomings can all be improved by taking better care of yourself. Personally, up to now, I have not encountered any problems related to gender differences.
Opportunities are given to all those who meet the qualifications and requirements of the profession. I myself am lucky because after completing training, I became a pilot of Vietnam Airlines' A350 fleet."
There are always more than 300 people watching behind the cockpit.
Throughout the conversation, Mai Khanh repeatedly mentioned her first flight when she sat on a basic training plane at the flight school in March 2020.
“For any pilot, the first flight is the most unforgettable flight.
'Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return'.
This is a quote by Leonardo da Vinci that I really like, because all my imaginations when I was still on the ground could not compare to the real feeling when I first experienced flying in the sky by myself," Mai Khanh said with her eyes shining with joy.
Up to now, after 4 years since learning to fly on a small plane, Mai Khanh has completely mastered the "giant iron birds". Among them, the first international commercial flight that she mastered in the cockpit was from Hanoi - Sydney (Australia).
“Besides the initial feelings of tension and excitement, the most memorable feeling was the moment I realized that from now on, every time I fly, there will be more than 300 people sitting behind the cockpit. It is a responsibility but also an extremely proud feeling!”, Mai Khanh said.
The first New Year's Eve in the sky
Except for the years studying abroad in Australia, every year when Tet comes, Mai Khanh spends all her time with her family. Therefore, the young female pilot's Tet memories are always associated with her family and Hanoi.
This year, when receiving the Tet flight schedule and seeing that she had a flight taking off 20 minutes before New Year's Eve, Mai Khanh was both curious because this was a new experience in her first year as a commercial pilot, and also a little sad because she couldn't celebrate the New Year with her family.
“However, this is also a feeling that I will have to get used to, because for pilots there is no concept of weekends or holidays.
Last New Year's Day, I also had the experience of taking off 20 minutes after the moment of entering the new year 2024. At that time, preparing to fly from Melbourne (Australia) to Hanoi, the flight crew and the flight attendants took the opportunity to raise glasses of fruit juice and send New Year's greetings to each other.
I believe that the Lunar New Year flight will also be a memorable experience for me. Because it takes off on the night of the 30th, my flight will fly past New Year's Eve. During the flight, while on duty, I and the flight crew will definitely focus completely on the flight," Mai Khanh affirmed.
According to the female pilot, as one of the new pilots, she was always taught to maintain a focused and professional working attitude regardless of the time. Therefore, celebrating the New Year will be reserved for when the plane has landed and the flight crew has completed their mission.
Mai Khanh prepared a small box of jam and a few pretty dresses so that after landing she could check in and call home to wish them a happy new year. "That way, for me, Tet is still complete in its own way even though I'm far from home," the female pilot said.
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