A young Samoan and Cook Islands woman, Isabel Drollet Macdonald, is on track to become Air Rarotonga’s first female pilot.

She has just graduated as a qualified pilot from Massey University with a Bachelor of Aviation, completing years of training in New Zealand and officially earning her pilot qualifications.

“I’m really happy because I am officially a pilot,” Macdonald told Pacific Media Network.

She said she is in talks with Air Rarotonga, the airline she has always hoped to fly for.

Ewan Smith, Air Rarotonga managing director, said the airline had been aware of Macdonald’s journey and saw her as part of a growing pipeline of young Cook Islands aviation talent.

“It’s a great achievement for Isabel,” Smith told PMN News. “We have young Cook Islanders progressing through our ranks continuously, and we look forward to welcoming her to the company.”

Smith said another young Cook Islands woman is currently training as a pilot in New Zealand, while women also work in other parts of the airline, including engineering.

The development comes as the global aviation industry continues to face a major gender gap. Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows women make up only around six per cent of pilots worldwide, despite ongoing efforts to increase female representation.

For Isabel’s parents, Alec Macdonald and Bredina Drollett, their daughter’s achievement is both personal and wider than that.

“One might call it historic, but it’s also a sign that not many Cook Islands’ girls have chosen aviation as a career pathway or have not been able to find a pathway in the Cook Islands,” they told PMN News. “Her experience may inspire an aviation pathway for more Cook Islands girls.”

Macdonald, who is of Samoan, Cook Islands, and Tongan heritage, says aviation has been her dream since she was young.

With her father a pilot and a mother who travelled often for work, she grew up around the idea of flying.

“I was always surrounded by the idea of travel,” she said. “When you think about travel, I guess the highest you can go is being a pilot.”

Despite studying and training overseas, Macdonald said her long-term goal has always been to return home.

Her parents said that while many Pacific young people wanted to bring their skills home, opportunities were not always clear or available.

“There aren’t always the right opportunities for them to bring these skills back,” they said in a statement. “We think Isabel knows how lucky she and other young Cook Islands’ pilots are to have the option to use their skills in a profession they love at home.”

Macdonald said the journey was not easy especially balancing study and flight training.

“I definitely second-guessed probably halfway through,” she said. “But my family is probably my number one supporter. I just did not want to let them down.”

She hopes her story will encourage more Pacific Islanders, especially young women, to pursue careers in industries where they are still underrepresented.

For Macdonald, the next step is getting into the cockpit at home and opening the door wider for others to follow.