Record-Breaking Air India Flight with All-Woman Crew Successfully Lands at Bengaluru Airport

Bengaluru: The first Indian flight operated by all-women crew landed at Kempegowda International Airport on Wednesday in Bengaluru from San Francisco, flying over the North Pole and covering a distance of about 16,000 kilometres.

It is the first Indian flight to undertake a non-stop 17-hour journey. According to a statement issued by Air India, “The flight will be operated by an all women cockpit crew of Capt Zoya Aggarwal (P1), Capt Papagari Thanmai (P1), Capt Akansha Sonaware (P2) and Capt Shivani Manhas (P2).”

Notably, the direct distance between Bengaluru and San Francisco is approximately 13,993 km and the cities are diametrically at opposite ends of the world with a time zone change of about 13.5 hours. As per the air carrier, the total flight time on this route was estimated to be more than 17 hours depending on the wind speed on.

However, Air India flight completed the journey well before time, making it the longest commercial flight in the world to be operated by Air India or any other airline in India. The carrier operated a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft VT ALG with a seating capacity of 238 seats including 8 first class, 35 business class, 195 economy class configurations, besides 4 cockpit and 12 cabin crew.

The aircraft also passed over the polar region to reach the destination, starting its journey from the west coast in the US. “Air India is engaging an all women cockpit crew for this flight. Air India has the highest women employee ratio for an airline in the world.

Capt Nivedita Bhasin, Executive Director (Flight Safety), Air India, is also traveling on this flight,” the statement said. At present, Air India operates non-stop flights from Delhi to New York, Newark, Washington DC, San Francisco and Chicago and from Mumbai to Newark and New York.