Air India will operate more all-female flights this week to celebrate International Women's Day
From holding a record for flying a non-stop flight for 17 hours last year, to a flight carrying an all women crew this year, Air India flies high as it is to set a new record for the first round-the-world flight staffed entirely by women. Air India's Boeing 777 travelled from Delhi to San Francisco and back with an all-female crew last week, the first time such a flight has circumnavigated the globe.
The airline, which has faced criticism in the past for grounding dozens of female cabin crew over their weight, said it had applied to Guinness World Records to validate the claim.
"Everyone involved in the flight operation - from pilots to check-in staff to cabin crew -- were from our female staff," spokesman G P Rao told AFP. Rao said even the air traffic controllers at the Delhi end of the flight, which returned on March 3, were women.
The airline will operate more all-female flights this week to celebrate International Women's Day on Wednesday, Rao added.
Last year the airline said that it had flown a non-stop flight for 17 hours to set a record for the longest all-female crew trip. In recent years Air India has taken several initiatives to improve its record on gender equality. In January it announced designated female-only seats on its domestic flights after a spate of sexual harassment complaints by passengers.
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