In A First, Air India All-Women Crew Land Its Longest Flight From US To Bengaluru

Air India flight AI 176, which had all its 238 seats booked, departed from San Francisco in the USA at 8.30 pm (local time) on Saturday and landed at the Kempegowda International Airport at 3.07 am (local time) on Monday.

Picture Courtesy: Twitter - @HardeepSPuri

An Air India flight operated by an all-women crew, which covered a record distance of 16,000 km flying over the North Pole, landed at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International airport on Monday morning at around 3:07 am. Air India flight AI 176, which had all its 238 seats booked, departed from San Francisco in the USA at 8.30 pm (local time) on Saturday and landed at the Kempegowda International Airport at 3.07 am (local time) on Monday. READ: Virat Kohli And Anushka Sharma Become Parents For The First Time Operated by an all-women cockpit crew, the crew included, Captain Zoya Aggarwal (P1), Captain Papagari Thanmai (P1), Captain Akansha Sonaware (P2), and Captain Shivani Manhas (P2), who responded to the cheers and clapping by showing the thumbs-up sign. AI 176 flight Captain Zoya Agarwal who has experience of 10 years in operating the B-777 aircraft and around 8000 hours of flying experience said, “Today is the day we created world history by not only flying the route over the north pole, by having all women pilots who successfully did it and it is also amongst the world’s longest flights. So we are extremely happy and proud to be part of it and also extremely thrilled that our government and our airline have instilled this trust in us. We all did it together as a team.” ALSO ON ABP LIVE: Virat Kohli's Special Message After Becoming Father To A Baby Girl Captain Akansha Sonaware said that Air India has the greatest number of lady pilots in the world. “People are safe with us when they fly whatever distance and wherever they go,” she said while another Captain Shivani Manhas said that there is a lot of hard work that has gone into the flight. “It was quite an exciting experience for all of us,” Shivani said. The crew also informed that the new route has saved fuel consumption, flying time, and curbing carbon footprint by flying over the polar route as the flight path. “We saved fuel about 2,000 kg to 10,000 kg on this special route over the polar region,” said Captain Papagari Thanmai. Lauding the achievement of Air India, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri took to Twitter and said, “Way to go girls! Professional, qualified & confident, the all-women cockpit crew takes off from San Francisco to Bengaluru on @airindiain’s flight to fly over the North Pole. Our Nari Shakti achieves a historic first.”

In a moment to cherish & celebrate, women professionals of Indian civil aviation create history. Heartiest Congratulations to Capt Zoya Aggarwal, Capt Papagari Thanmai, Capt Akansha Sonaware & Capt Shivani for flying over North Pole to land in Bengaluru from San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/P6EvJChMGB

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) January 11, 2021

The flight, which will operate twice per week, is Air India’s longest route in its network at approx 14,000 km (8,698 miles) and the longest flight to and from India around 16 hours.