In a historic move, Air India s longest direct route flight with the all-women pilot team landed at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru from San Francisco, flying over the North Pole and covering a distance of about 16,000 kilometers. Today, we created world history by not only flying over the North Pole but also by having all women pilots who successfully did it. We are extremely happy and proud to be part of it. This route has saved 10 tonnes of fuel, said Captain Zoya Aggarwal. Shivani Manhas, one of the four pilots who operated Air India s inaugural San Francisco-Bengaluru flight said, It was an exciting experience since it was never done before. It took almost 17 hours to reach here.
An all-women cockpit crew set out on a history journey, operating Air India s inaugural San Francisco-Bengaluru flight, going over the North Pole and taking the Atlantic route to reach the Karnataka capital at the other end of the world. The flight number AI176 left San Francisco on Saturday at 8.30 PM (local time) and would arrive here at 3.45 AM on Monday, according to Air India sources. Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted, 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.