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Bengaluru-San Francisco, the world’s longest air route, operated by an all-women crew

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AN all-women pilot team of much-maligned national carrier Air India has created history by flying  16,000 km over the North Pole from San Francisco to Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. The Air India pilots had flown over the polar route earlier also. It is for the first time that a team of women pilots flew over the North Pole led by captain Zoya Agarwal. 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.” Welcome Home Capt Zoya Agarwal, Capt Papagiri Thanmei, Capt Akanksha & Capt Shivani after completing a landmark journey with touchdown @BLRAirport. Kudos for making Air India proud. We also congratulate passengers of AI176 for being part of this historic moment,” Air India tweeted. The flight, AI 176, left  San Francisco at 2030 hrs (local time) on January 9 and arrived at Bengaluru at 0345 hrs (local time) on January 11. This is said to be the longest commercial flight in the world to be operated by the national carrier or any other airline in India. India.com says quoting an Air India official ‘’ aviation experts believe that flying over the North Pole is extremely technical and requires skill and experience. “Flying through the North Pole is very challenging and airline companies send their best and experienced pilots on this route. This time Air India has given responsibilities to a woman captain for the journey from San Francisco to Bengaluru via polar route.” Zoya is an ace pilot who had the experience of more than 8,000 flying hours before undertaking the San Francisco to Bengaluru flight. The longest flight over the North Pole will be another feather in her cap as she was the youngest woman pilot to fly a Boeing-777 in 2013. ‘’We are pleased to welcome @airindiain’s first-ever nonstop flights between San Francisco and Bangalore (Bengaluru), India! This new service represents the only nonstop flights between the United States and Bengaluru’’, the airline has announced on Twitter. Edited by PK  Chakravarty 

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