Mother-Daughter Pilot Team Makes History

Two Hawaiian Airlines pilots made history by becoming the first mother-daughter pilot team in the carrier’s 93-year history.
On September 1, Captain Kamelia Zarka and her daughter, First Officer Maria Zarka flew together on a series of neighbor airline flights while sharing the flight deck of a Boeing 717 aircraft.
Kamelia joined Hawaiian Airlines as a flight attendant in 1992 and became a pilot in 1999, which led her to be the first Tongan woman to captain a commercial airline. Maria, who flew with Republic Airlines in New Jersey for two years, was hired by Hawaiian Airlines in April 2022.
“Flying for Hawaiian Airlines with my daughter, side-by-side in the cockpit, was a dream come true for me. I always knew Maria would be a fantastic pilot – she’s always been brilliant and professional – but sitting next to her as she flew the plane with such skill and ease still blew me away” said Kamelia in a press release..
 
(Photo Credit: Hawaiian Airlines/Bryan Shirota)