Marinella, you were appointed on 1 April to be Head of the Milan Area Control Centre in Italy becoming the first woman to hold this post. Did you expect it?

When I was asked to take this position, I really did not expect it because I could not imagine being chosen for a role of such great responsibility. This has nothing to do with the fact of me being a woman, because in my career I have been given many important tasks that have always provided clear evidence of the trust placed in me.

How many women do your job in Europe? Have you ever had the opportunity to meet any of them? Do you think they have the same needs and doubts as you and address the same risks?

I do not know exactly how many do the same job as me in Europe. I can say that the Operations Director of NATS is a woman and in the past I have met several women in positions such as operational manager and safety manager and the like. I guess the needs, doubts and risks are for the most part similar, but partly different because they are influenced by the different socio-cultural contexts that characterise each country.

The air traffic world is still a “male” preserve; the numbers speak for themselves. Does it mean that you had to prove you were “better” than your male colleagues? A truly “excellent resource”?

If we take your point for granted, I think I have been very lucky because I have never felt the need to prove anything more than anyone else. I have been given the opportunity to work in line with the same conditions as others and my “characteristics” were deemed to be fit-for-purpose for the tasks entrusted to me from time to time.

What kind of relationship do you have with your male and female colleagues?

I've always had a great relationship with everyone and it is really important to me to get on well with and be in tune with all my colleagues.

Being a CTA is a special profession that not many people are aware of Now you have to be “on track” differently, without headphones. What's your normal day like?

Thanks to various assignments outside the operating room, at an international level, I have had the opportunity in recent years of meeting people from other operating environments and other cultures, in some of the most diverse situations. These experiences will certainly come in handy in my new role. My day mainly involves work in the office, trying to respond to the numerous requests and needs that the role requires, and at the same time trying to maintain a daily link with the operational environment. The hardest part is effective time management, and so I really try to be as efficient as possible in this. There's still a long way to go, but on the other hand I'm only just beginning.

Well, Marinella, we wish you the very best of luck and would like to ask you one final question: if you had not become a CTA what job would you have liked to do?

Thank you very much. I have a lot of interests but the professional jobs I have always been keen on doing are: archaeologist, doctor and interpreter.