AI all-women crew takes off on historic flight to Bengaluru

Air India has said this will be the longest commercial flight in the world to be operated by it or any other airline in India.

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.

The Indian state-owned carrier has been seeking a buyer for some time now as the government wants to divest its 100 per cent stake in Air India and budget carrier AI Express. (HT File Photo)

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.”

Air India has said this will be the longest commercial flight in the world to be operated by it or any other airline in India. The total flight time on this route will be more than 17 hours depending on the wind speed on that particular day.