Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Congratulates All-Women Flight Crew For Scripting History

Bhubaneswar/Bengaluru: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday congratulated the all-women Air India crew for scripting history by completing the longest direct flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru, covering a distance of 16,000 km and flying over the North Pole.

“Truly inspiration for millions and indeed a glorious moment for the nation,” the CM tweeted.

Congratulate all women crew of @airindiain for scripting history by completing longest direct flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru, covering a distance of 16,000 km & flying over #NorthPole. Truly inspiration for millions and indeed a glorious moment for the nation.

— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) January 11, 2021

The crew of four women made history after they landed at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Monday morning.

“Today, we created world history by not only flying over the North Pole but also by having all women pilots who successfully did it. We are extremely happy and proud to be part of it. This route has saved 10 tonnes of fuel,” Captain Zoya Aggarwal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

On his part, 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 the country.