An Almeria heroine

CAPTAIN Maria Jesus Perez De Zafra Vargas was the only female pilot involved in Spain’s Kabul evacuation operation last August.

Roquetas-born Maria Jesus, who pilots an Airbus A400M, is one of the few women possessing a licence for this type of military transport aircraft, twice the size of the Hercules 130s that were withdrawn earlier this year.

Talking to the Spanish media Maria Jesus, who studied architecture before joining the Air Force, admitted that she was not entirely satisfied with the Afghanistan mission.

“There were thousands who could not leave the country,” she lamented.

But more than half of those who escaped were women and children, Maria Jesus said.

“As a woman, I feel proud to have taken part in the operation in that respect,” she declared.