International Women's Day: Meet Zoya Aggarwal, the woman who commanded longest non-stop commercial flight

She along with team Air India created history in aviation in January this year by operating the longest non-stop commercial flight by any airline to India covering a massive distance of 16,000 km in 17 hours, the longest commercial flight over the north pole.

New Delhi: Captain Zoya Aggarwal, a commercial pilot and the commander with Air India, who is also a TEDx speaker is an inspiration to young women and girls in India. In 2013, she became the youngest female pilot to fly a Boeing-777 and has 11 years of flying experience. In January 2021, she made another milestone by commanding an all-women team of pilots to fly Air India’s longest non-stop commercial flight from San Francisco, USA to Bengaluru, India.

Speaking to ETV Bharat on the occasion of International Women's Day, Zoya said that when she became Captain in 2013, her mother cried. "But those tears were of happiness. You see I come from a place where I was not even allowed to have such dreams and I relied on my inner voice which guided me throughout and motivated me that nothing is impossible and kept on telling me 'change the way you read the word, I am possible'," she said.

Every woman, Zoya said, should dream and believe in herself to accomplish her goals, irrespective of the difficulties she faces. "Work hard, stay focused and dedicated, give your 100 per cent, but never give up," said Zoya who has been chosen by United Nations as Spokesperson for Generation Equality.

"I am very fortunate and it's a matter of great pride for me to represent my country and Air India on a platform like UN Women. I feel very honoured to have brought laurels to my country across the world. I am proudly grateful to our government and my airline for giving me the opportunity to serve the nation in this uniform," she said. "Empower the girls in our country, allow them to dream. Let them do what they wish to because only then can they be happy. So, it is a better place to thrive."

She along with team Air India created history in aviation in January this year by operating the longest non-stop commercial flight by any airline to India covering a massive distance of 16,000 km in 17 hours, the longest commercial flight over the north pole. At present, Captain Zoya Agarwal is commanding the San Francisco to Bengaluru flight.