In a first, Air India operates all-women Haj flight to Jeddah | See pictures
2 min read 08 Jun 2023, 10:17 PM ISTAccording to Tata Group-owned Air India, women constitute over 40 per cent of Air India's workforce, with 275 of its 1,825 pilots being women, representing 15 per cent of the cockpit crew strength and making it an airline having one of the largest numbers of female pilots.
PremiumAir India Express on Thursday completed a successful all-women Haj flight, a first of its kind. According to Air India IX 3025, carrying 145 women pilgrims, departed from Kozhikode at 6.45pm and reached Jeddah at 10.45 local time.
Air India shared images of the female Captain, pilot, crew members and all passengers at the airport.
According to Tata Group-owned Air India, women constitute over 40 per cent of Air India's workforce, with 275 of its 1,825 pilots being women, representing 15 per cent of the cockpit crew strength and making it an airline having one of the largest numbers of female pilots.
See the images here
Air India had created history in 2021, when their first non-stop flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru, flown by four women pilots, landed at Kempegowda International airport in Bengaluru.
The flight was operated by an all-women cockpit crew of 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.
Notably, Air India on Women's Day had said 15 per cent of its 1,825 pilots are women pilots, making it an airline with the largest number of female pilots. "Of the 90 flights operated by all-women cockpit and cabin crew, Air India is flying 40 flights across domestic and international locations, whereas AI Express is operating 10 all-international flights to the Gulf route and AirAsia India is operating over 40 flights within India," it said.
Meanwhile, an Air India flight landed safely in San Francisco on Thursday carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew members from Magadan in far east Russia where they were stranded for two days after the original aircraft had to be diverted following a mid-air engine glitch.
Air India's non-stop flight AI-173 for San Francisco had taken off from Delhi on June 6 at 4.23 am and was scheduled to land in San Francisco the next day at 7 am (local time).