To The Skies And Beyond: How Captain Zoya Aggarwal And Her Female Led Team Made Our Nation Proud
Niharika has a passion for all things art, music, and travel and has over 4 years of experience in writing for social media. During her spare time, she likes experimenting in the kitchen, playing vide... read full bio
Image: The News Minute
In a country that is still fighting for women’s rights and for women to be seen as equal to men, Zoya Aggarwal shines through as a beacon of light. The Air India captain commandeered an all-women crew from San Francisco to Bengaluru via the North Pole. Yes, you heard that right, the North Pole. While this route is not uncommon for pilots to fly by, this is the first time a women-led team flew across the North Pole. The flight time was approximately 17 hours and it arrived at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru on Monday early morning. Here’s their incredible story and how they did it:
“Bharat Ki Betis”
The team, which is affectionately called, “Bharat Ki Betis” (Daughters of India), consisted of Captain Zoya, Captain Thanmai Papagari, Captain Shivani Manhas, Captain Akansha Sonaware, and Air India’s executive director of flight safety, Captain Nivedita Bhasin who was monitoring the flight to ensure everything goes according to the plan. They covered a distance of around 14,000 kilometres. This is a long flight route but also a quick and extremely fuel efficient one. The crew saved around 10 tonnes of fuel by flying across this route.
During an interview with a popular newspaper, Captain Zoya revealed some interesting details about how her dream came to life. She spoke about how flying across the North Pole had been a dream for their crew for a while and how they were supposed to attempt it the previous year. Unfortunately, due to turbulent weather conditions they were unable to plan the journey last year and had to postpone it.
“How many people have seen the North Pole?! I consider myself super fortunate to command the airplane and to view the North Pole from top and come on the other side! It’s going to be a new chapter in aviation history,” she exclaimed excitedly about their journey. We can imagine that the North Pole makes for an interesting goal to achieve. In the interview that happened before the flight took off, she spoke about how they would be flying all the way from the Silicon Valley of the US to the Silicon Valley of India. Zoya spoke about how despite this being a long-haul flight, it is much faster than if they were to fly across the Pacific or Atlantic ocean. She added that due to this, they are able to save up on the fuel that they had stocked up in San Francisco.
On Her Journey To Becoming A Pilot
Zoya spoke candidly about how she had wanted to grow up and become a pilot since she was a child. She added that when she first told her mother about her dreams to become a pilot, her mother actually cried out of fear for her safety and life. However, Zoya was persistent and her parents too agreed to eventually support her dreams of becoming a successful commercial pilot. She added that she has been flying in command for eight years and when in 2013, she became a Captain, her mother cried, but this time, with tears of joy.
Zoya spoke about how when she had joined Air India, she was one of a handful of female pilots and spoke about how she was often treated like she was a kid. However, she did add that her seniors were extremely supportive of her. Zoya admitted that it is a male-dominated field but said that both women and men have to work equally hard to succeed in their field. After all, taking on the role of a commercial pilot means that you are not just responsible for your own life, but also for the life of all the passengers that are on board with you.
When asked what her message for little girls with big dreams was, she spoke about how she believes that women can achieve whatever they dream of and that they should never let anything hold them back. Zoya added that as women, we must aspire to break the glass ceiling and that no dream is impossible to achieve. Air India kept all of us on the page through their timely Twitter updates and let people know about the status of the flight as the women made their journey across the world. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri tweeted out a statement saying, “This historic journey from San Francisco to Bangalore makes the Vanda Bharat mission even more special because of women pilots. This mission has facilitated the international journey of over 46.5 lakh people so far.”
It’s so magical to witness Indian women make such a huge stride and write down such incredible moments in our aviation history. Never let anybody stop you from achieving your goals or tell you “You’re a woman. It cannot be done.” Aim high and dream on. Let us know all of your thoughts on this wonderful story in the comment section below!
