All-women Air India pilot team scripts history by flying over world's longest air route

Image courtesy: ANI

Karnataka: An all-women Air India pilot team flew over the North Pole on the world's longest air route Air and successfully landed at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru from San Francisco, covering a distance of about 16,000 kilometres.

"It was an exciting experience since it was never done before. It took almost 17 hours to reach here," Shivani Manhas, one of the four pilots, who operated Air India's inaugural San Francisco-Bengaluru flight, told ANI.

"Today, we created world history by not only flying over the North Pole but also by having all women pilots who successfully did it. We are extremely happy and proud to be part of it. This route has saved 10 tonnes of fuel," Captain Zoya Aggarwal told ANI at Bengaluru airport.

The all-women pilot team of Air India started their flight from San Fransico (SFO) and reached Bengaluru on January 11, covering a distance of about 16,000 kilometres.

According to aviation experts, flying over the North Pole is extremely technical and requires skill and experience. The longest flight over the North Pole will be another feather in Captain Zoya's cap as she was the youngest woman pilot to fly a Boeing-777 in 2013.

"I am the youngest woman commander in the world on Boeing 777. Women should have self-belief even if they face societal pressure not consider any task impossible," she was earlier quoted by ANI.