Air India has completed its first ever journey around the world run entirely by an all-female crew.
The historic journey from Delhi to San Francisco covered around 9,500 miles, before making its return trip across the Atlantic.
The flight featured female pilots and cabin crew and all of the staff on the ground such as engineers and air traffic controllers were also women.
The company now plans to operate similar flights to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March and has also applied for a Guinness World Record.
Speaking about the journey, Captain Kshamata Bajpayee said, “The flight is a symbol of women empowerment and it will encourage women to step out of their comfort zone and succeed in male-dominated arenas too.”
“The entire message is actually to encourage young girls who have dreams of getting into the skies and they feel it’s too technical or this is something only men do.”
“This flight is a symbol that every single male-dominated function can be carried out by women safely and efficiently.”
“Only when you wish can you be granted that wish.”
“Only when you dream can that dream come true, it has come true for me.”
The news comes just months after Air India announced that it would be launching female-only seats on domestic routes.
The move came after a number of women claimed to have been groped by male passengers during flights. The restriction will apply to the front row on economy flights and will be released for lone female travellers who do not wish to sit next to a man.
From late January, six seats have been made available on the Airbus A320 aircraft on flights throughout India. The women-only seats could be extended to other flights in the year.
