Air India : All Women flights across India and 12 foreign stations marking Int Women’s Day

BABU TANGEWALA

CHICAGO: Air India flew 12 all-women crew flights on its medium and long-haul international routes and over 40 return domestic and short-haul flights all over India to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, 2019.

On this occasion, the women cockpit and cabin crew of Air India operated both wide and narrow body aircraft in its fleet to all corners of the world and across the nation to salute woman power in sync with the socio-cultural ethos of India. Seldom has a single airline scheduled so many flights –  operated by its women employees – setting a benchmark to reiterate the equal role and opportunity women rightly deserve in any organization.

Speaking on the occasion, Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani said: “Every individual and the society must respect women. It is a moment of absolute pride and honor for Air Indians that our women employees are leaving their mark in the aviation sector on a global scale. I would like to congratulate our women crew for operating so many flights on various international and domestic routes fuelled by their indomitable nari shakti.”

Air India deployed its B787 Dream liners and B777s to operate to 12 international medium and long-haul flights operated by women pilots and attended by women cabin crew to celebrate the Women’s Day. The sectors are as follows:

Women pilots and cabin crew operated Airbus family aircraft as well as Dreamliners to over 40 domestic destinations to commemorate the occasion.  For most of these flights, the technical services were provided by woman aircraft engineers, technicians and flight dispatchers; while woman duty managers, counter staff, helpers and doctors did the honours for most of these flights.

Air India’s foray into all-woman crew flights dates back to November 1985 when an all-woman cockpit crew operated a Fokker Friendship flight from Kolkata to Silchar. In fact, Air India’s rich legacy of woman pilots and commanders had started way back in 1956 when Captain Durba Banerjee was inducted as the first woman commercial pilot of Air India (erstwhile Indian Airlines).

Over the years, Air India has operated innumerable all-woman crew domestic and international flights. Air India had earlier created history by operating the around-the-world flight on Delhi-San Francisco-Delhi sector. The non-stop flight from Delhi to San Francisco travelled via the Pacific Ocean and returned via the Atlantic Ocean completing a round trip of the world.

The national carrier has been providing equal opportunities to its women employees in every area of its functioning from senior management posts to pilots, flight dispatchers, aircraft engineers, technicians, safety and quality auditors, ground instructors. Indeed, the women employees of Air India have proved over the years that the hands that rock the cradle can propel an airline to soar high as well.

Air India pioneered India’s aviation since its first flight on October 15, 1932. It has now blossomed   to become a mega international airline with a network of 46 international destinations across the US, Europe, Far East, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Gulf. The airline also has an extensive domestic network of 80 destinations,including all state capitals and far-flung areas of India’s Northeast, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The airline also offers low-cost travel options.