“Not all of the female applicants are eligible to operate passenger flights,” Farzaneh Sharafbafi was also quoted as saying by the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development’s news portal on Friday. “Some of them might need to take part in another exam scheduled later,” she added. The flag carrier recruits pilots every year, but its latest recruitment advertisement had a major difference compared with those of the previous years, as it called on female pilots to take part in the recruitment exams for the first time. The decision was made by Sharafbafi who became the first woman in the history of the Islamic Republic to take charge of Iran Air. Close to 4,000 women are working in Iran’s aviation industry. Unlike Iran Air, most Iranian airlines have been using female pilots for operating passenger flights, Financial Tribune reported.