30 UNDER 30

18. Sheikha Mozah Bint Marwan Al Maktoum

Age: 25
Occupation: Pilot
Nationality: Emirati
Residence: U.A.E.
Category: Impact

Sheikha Mozah bint Marwan Al Maktoum took her first flying lesson aged 12 on a Robinson 22. In 2013, she achieved a Guinness World Record for wing walking and entered Oxford Aviation, graduating as the youngest in her class. She became the first woman in the Royal Family to fly for Emirates Airline in 2015 and was the first woman in the U.A.E. to join Dubai Police Airwing as a first lieutenant pilot in 2019. In the same year, she established the Women in Aviation Association (Shehana) to provide support and increase awareness of opportunities in this field—not only as pilots or crew members but as lawyers, engineers, doctors, and other vital roles. In May 2022, Sheikha Mozah became the first woman to ever fly the AW609 tiltrotor—which combines a helicopter’s operational versatility and an airplane’s performance advantages—at the U.S. helicopter headquarters of Leonardo in Philadelphia.