Air India's All Women Crew Receives A Special Mention From PM Modi

In his monthly radio address- Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed four female pilots of Air India. They created history by completing the flight's longest journey from San Francisco to Bengaluru. 

"Dear countrymen, you would have heard a few days back that four women pilots commanded a direct flight from San Fransisco in the US to Bengaluru. The flight, covering a distance of over 10,000 kilometre, brought over 225 people to India."

On Jan 11, 2021, Air India completed its longest flight from San Fransisco, U.S. to Bengaluru with an all women crew in the cockpit. The flight was supposed to be the longest commercial flight in the world to be operated by an Indian airline. The total time on the route would be about 17 hours depending upon the speed of the wind on the particular day.

All women crew makes history, flying over north pole, undertaking longest passenger flight. India also has largest number of female pilots

SheThePeople interviewed Captain Thanmai Papagiri and talked to her about her journey. "Everyone's a pilot inside the cockpit. No male no female."

The Prime Minister also highlighted women's achievements by mentioning their contribution in this year's Republic Day. He said, "You must have seen two women IAF officers creating history in this year's Republic Day parade. Be it any field, the participation of the nation's women is continuously increasing."

The officers were the first ever women pilots to perform in the Jan 26 Parade.

Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth was the first Indian woman to qualify for combat mission in a fighter jet. She also became the first female fighter pilot to participate in the Republic Day fly-past. As reported by news agency ANI, Flight Lieutenant Swati Rathore became the first woman to be a part of the fly-past over Rajpath. She flew an Mi- 17 V5 helicopter in a formation of four choppers.