Mariella Vella, 21, of Victoria, who has been appointed First Officer with Air Malta, is the first Gozitan woman to obtain a commercial pilot licence.
Ms Vella received her education at the Victoria primary school and secondary school. She followed a two-year post secondary course at the Sir M'Ang Refalo Centre for Further Studies.
Following a semester in B.Engineering (Hons) at the University of Malta, she embarked on a 12-month aviation course at the Oxford Aviation Academy in the UK and a six-month training course in Goodyear, Phoenix, US.