09/11/2022
Before joining the aviation industry, Ali Mohamed worked as a driver and guide with a Tours and Travel company. His job was to primarily move clients from one destination to another.
“The Tours and Travel industry is interesting but very limited. It is season based and this comes with a lot of instability,” Ali said.
Due to the pressure that comes with an expanding family, Ali had to find an alternative source of income.
One of the destinations he frequented was the airport. The more Ali picked and dropped tourists, the more he became enthralled by airport operations. With a desire to change careers and an incentive of being part of the aviation operations that fascinated him so much, Ali decided to take the risky leap of quitting his job and trying his luck with the aviation industry.
In 2017, he applied for a position as a logistic officer at 748 Air Services.
Prior to his interviews, Ali got in touch with some of his friends at the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and persistently pestered them with questions. The skeleton knowledge of aviation was not enough for him and he wanted the whole flesh.
On his fourth interview, Ali’s knowledge on aviation was impressively sufficient and he landed the job.
The first order of business after being hired was training. Unlike the Tours and Travel industry where one has access to the landside only, Ali was introduced to the airside. As a logistic officer under ground operations, Ali was given adequate training on facilitating movement and transport to and from the airside and to deliver crew meals and aircraft catering among other logistical duties.
But this was not enough for the ambitious Ali. He took the initiative to self-educate. With his curious nature and never-ending questions, Ali acquired skills such as fueling the aircraft, and executing dispatch and reception duties.
“The aviation industry is very demanding. One particular trait that I have acquired working in this industry is punctuality. Time is of utmost significance and there is no room for delay at all. This trait has pushed me to be more active and the word ‘lazy’ is no longer in my dictionary. There is just no place for it.”
