All-Women Crew Marks History with Air India’s Longest Commercial Flight

While the pandemic has been a time for channelising and discovering creativity, it has also marked some unforgettable chapters in human history. Adding to one of the early achievements this year, an all-woman crew flew Air India’s longest direct route flight, flying over the North Pole, taking the Atlantic route and landing at Karnataka’s capital city, Bengaluru. The flight covered a distance of approximately 16,000 kilometres.

 

 

 

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A post shared by @zoya_aggarwal_pilot

Flight AI176 with its all-woman pilot team departed from San Francisco on Saturday (January 9, 2021) and reached Kempegowda International Airport on Monday (January 11, 2021).

#FlyAI : Welcome Home
Capt Zoya Agarwal, Capt Papagiri Thanmei, Capt Akanksha & Capt Shivani after completing a landmark journey with touchdown @BLRAirport.

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Kudos for making Air India proud.

We also congratulate passengers of AI176 for being part of this historic moment. pic.twitter.com/UFUjvvG01h

— Air India (@airindiain) January 10, 2021

An all-woman crew and a flight over the North Pole—this event stamped itself in the pages of aviation history of India. This was also an inaugural event for the nonstop flight service between the West Coast of the United States and southern India.

The direct route between San Francisco and Bengaluru is believed to save 10 tonnes of fuel. Air India’s San Francisco-Bengaluru flight service will be the longest commercial flight in the world to be operated by any airline services in India.