Etihad Airways welcomed Noora Al-Marri, its 1,000th Emirati member of staff, to the airline. The 23-year old Noora from Abu Dhabi was encouraged to join the UAE's national flagship by her husband Faisal Al-Naqbi, an officer cadet from batch 19 of the cadet pilot program, who joined in the beginning of 2011. She has recently joined the airline's graduate manager development program (GMDP).

Etihad Airways Chief People and Performance Officer Ray Gammell said, "We are delighted to welcome Noora, the airline's 1000th Emirati employee, to the Etihad Airways family. "Etihad Airways recognizes the vital role of UAE nationals in the ongoing development and running of our business and we look forward to supporting Noora as she embarks on her career with the UAE's national airline."

Etihad Airways now employs more than 1,000 UAE nationals across its seven divisions, with Emiratis comprising 21 per cent of the airline's core employee workforce.

Noora Al Marri said: "I am thrilled to be the 1,000th Emirati employee to join the company, and that accolade is sure to give me extra motivation over the coming weeks of the graduate management development program's induction phase."

Etihad Airways has received widespread praise for its Emiratization recruitment strategy, which includes programs for graduate managers, cadet pilots, technical engineers, sales managers, guest service agents, contact center agents, and airport operations managers.

Ray Gammell said, "Etihad Airways is immensely proud of its Emiratization recruitment strategy and programs which have achieved great success since being launched in 2007, with 21 percent of our core work force being Emirati."