The inclusion of women in civil aviation is now a reality. Slowly, they are joining the ranks of pilots, and while there is still a long way to go, it is becoming increasingly common to see a woman piloting a commercial aircraft. But before reaching this point, there were pioneers. In Spain, that pioneer is Bettina Kadner. Here is her biography.
Bettina Kadner: The First Woman to Pilot a Passenger Plane in Spain
Her name is German, but she was born in Spain. Her grandfather, an architect by profession, had been a pilot during World War I. Her parents left Germany and settled in Madrid, where Bettina was born in 1946.
Bettina’s mother, Ute Kadner, owned a company that specialized in road and airport signage, and she imported a machine for marking airport runways. Bettina began accompanying her mother to aerodromes at the age of 12, watching how the work was done. It was then, still a child, that she fell in love with airplanes and decided she wanted to become a pilot.
Shortly after, at 18 and upon finishing high school, she began preparing to fulfill her dream. She studied at Spanish aviation schools, specifically in Cuatro Vientos, Madrid, and Alcantarilla, Murcia. At 22, after passing exams at the National School of Aeronautics in Salamanca, she earned her first-class commercial pilot license. Not only that: Bettina succeeded in having the regulations changed that, in the 1960s, prevented women from flying commercial aircraft.
The Challenge of Pursuing an Aviation Career as a Woman
As she has mentioned on several occasions, her early years as a co-pilot and pilot were not easy. The 1970s were a time when women made up a small percentage of the workforce, and even less so in professions like hers. During some courses she took in the United States, she felt “normal and less scrutinized” when her colleagues were also women. In that country, the reality was very different.
Her career began in 1969 at Spantax, where she started as a co-pilot on Fokker 27 turboprop planes as well as DC-6, DC-7, and DC-9 aircraft. Three years later, in 1972, she became the first female captain in Spain and the second in Europe. For more than a decade, she was the only woman at the controls of an aircraft in the country.
In 1987, she joined Iberia, initially flying as a co-pilot and later as a captain. She piloted Airbus A319, A320, and A321 aircraft, mostly on European routes. She remained active at Iberia until her retirement, with her final flight taking place in November 2009.
Her Calling as an Instructor
Yes, Bettina loved flying—but she also had a natural talent for teaching. In parallel with her piloting career, she worked as an instructor at Iberia’s New Pilot School. In 1995, in her role as board member of the Spanish Pilots Association, she promoted the creation of the Commercial Aviation Pilots College (COPAC) and the Center for Advanced Aviation Studies (CESDA). Bettina played a major role in the professionalization of the sector.
Bettina’s Impact on Other Women
Being the first woman to pilot a passenger plane is not just a historical fact—it is a way to pave the way and show women that another reality is possible. “It is necessary to increase the presence of women in the pilot profession, so that children see the presence of women in roles traditionally associated with men as natural,” she stated, as reported by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.
Bettina was followed by other women pilots, such as María Aburto, the first Iberia pilot to fly the Madrid-Barcelona air shuttle, and Rosa García Santolaya, who began her career as a captain in 1988.
Bettina remains involved in promoting civil aviation and, especially, in fostering equality within the sector through the Aviadoras group at SEPLA. Today, women make up 6% of pilots in Spain, making this platform particularly important in breaking the glass ceiling. Bettina, who was awarded an honorary doctorate by Universitat Rovira i Virgili, is undoubtedly a role model for all the women yet to come.
The Iberia Plane That Bears Her Name
Recently, Iberia, where Bettina spent most of her career, honored her by naming an aircraft after her—specifically, an Airbus A320neo. The ceremony took place at La Muñoza, recognizing this remarkable woman in the way she truly deserves.