In her fourth decade of life, Zahra Gholamian reflects on a lifetime spent soaring through the skies. As a flight attendant for nearly two decades, she has accumulated a treasure trove of experiences and adventures. Now retired and pursuing a doctorate in tourism, she fondly recalls her most memorable flight: accompanying a group of artists from Isfahan on their pilgrimage to Karbala to install the shrine of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him). This journey not only allowed her to fulfill her lifelong aspiration of visiting the shrine of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) but also provided her with a profound spiritual experience.
How did you become a flight attendant and choose this profession?
It was quite by chance. My cousins saw an advertisement for flight attendant training in the newspaper and signed me up without my knowledge. While they were rejected, I was accepted. I went through various stages and interviews. They told me I was overweight and needed to exercise. One day while I was working out, Khorasan Razavi Radio and Television asked me to do an interview about the benefits of exercise. I did that, and afterwards, they asked me to audition for reporting. In short, I was accepted by both the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and the flight attendant training program. But due to employment conditions, I had to choose one. I preferred to become a flight attendant and also continued working at IRIB.
Why did you prioritize flight attending? Did you have any prior knowledge about it?
Not at all. I hadn’t thought about it.
So why did you take that risk and choose it as your main profession?
I consulted with my friends and those who had experience working in IRIB. At that time, I hadn’t been accepted into university and had experienced a setback, and I wasn’t feeling well. So I wanted to be somewhere and succeed. I could always work part-time in various departments at IRIB, so I preferred to choose flight attending as my main job because it was a diverse job and I could travel to different places. For example, we had flights to Jeddah from various cities. On the other hand, at that time, the radio station had given me a very large recorder that weighed at least 20 kilograms. I had coordinated with the IRIB security department and the airline company to go out and conduct various reports and interviews during my rest times.
You were very young, weren’t you?
Yes, I was 19 years old.
Do you remember your first flight?
I think it was in Esfand 1375 when I attended my first flight as an observer. Actually, I overslept, and the weather was rainy. Nobody knew our home address and there were no mobile phones. So, the senior flight attendant came looking for me in the middle of the night, and I didn’t even know the flight time! But thank God, I wasn’t late and I took the first flight from Tehran to Mashhad. I felt very good. When I looked out of the airplane window and saw the dome of Imam Reza’s shrine, I felt a very strange and wonderful feeling.
Were you not afraid?
No, it was a very good and interesting feeling; perhaps a combination of stress, excitement, and thrill all mixed together.
Were you single?
Yes, in fact, my husband was an airline passenger. Once, during Nowruz, they asked me to interview the head of a physical education organization. I went to the interview in my uniform. While I was conducting the interview, a gentleman suddenly rushed in and collided with the projector. Because I was very tired and had a long flight, I argued with him and then took the report and left.
The next day, I had a flight and coincidentally saw the same gentleman who I had met the day before as a passenger on the plane. He was also surprised that I was a flight attendant. He liked me, and with the coordination of the company’s managers, he was present on my flights for about a year. This continued until, through a sports producer who was like a father to me, he proposed marriage, and then we went through the rest of the process.
Do you have children?
Yes, I have a 22-year-old daughter who is currently a psychology student.
Did your daughter or husband ever have a problem with your job?
After all, despite all the attractions of flying, it is dangerous and there could be a sudden accident at any time.
