When someone talks about a pilot, many people naturally assign the male gender to them. And when someone talks about a flight attendant, people assume them to be women. And the saddest thing is, at merely 15 per cent, India has the highest number of female pilots in the world. However, who is soaring rather high and being an inspiration to people all over the world is Air India captain Zoya Agarwal, who created history by operating the longest non-stop commercial flight to India.
Let’s get to know Agarwal, and her journey to becoming such an inspirational woman, better.
Who is Zoya Agarwal?
Zoya Agarwal is an Air India captain, who has been applauded for leading the first all-women crew flying over the North Pole from San Francisco to Bengaluru. According to her Linkedin profile, she has served as a senior commander in Air India for more than a decade now. Agarwal studied at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.
On flying over the North Pole, Agarwal has said that it was not just India’s dream to achieve this but also hers—and fulfilling it, feels magical to her. She has been applauded for her work in the aviation industry and is inspiring several women to soar high too.
Aviation career of Zoya Agarwal
In 2021, Agarwal garnered a lot of praise, respect and attention for making the debut non-stop flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru, one of the longest air routes in the world. She, along with an all-women crew, brought us a lot of pride and inspiration.
However, Agarwal has exhibited her calibre and unparalleled performance earlier as well. She became the youngest female pilot in India to fly a Boeing-777 in 2013.
In 2015, she was again applauded for her presence of mind and quick action when she saved a passenger’s life on a flight that was headed to New York. The passenger was unable to breathe properly, which is when she swiftly decided to turn back and land at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi. The passenger was rushed to a nearby hospital just in time.
In fact, as the pandemic began, and the Indian government sent out flights to evacuate around 14,800 Indians from twelve different countries, Agarwal was co-piloting the first repatriation flight by Air India.
Owing to the immense courage and metier that Agarwal has exhibited time and again in her aviation career, she was asked by the United Nations to be its spokesperson for Generation Equality.
With co-pilots R Someshwar, Sandeep Mukhedkar and Abhay Agarwal, Agarwal piloted Air India's first Boeing 777 flight over the Hindu Kush mountain range—a route which greatly reduced the journey time between Delhi and North America.
Overcoming hardships
Agarwal may be on cloud nine now, but she has endured and overcome her share of hardships to be where she is today. Belonging to a lower-middle-class family, her parents had limited means and pilot training comes at a high cost.
She always wanted to be a pilot and would often head gaze at the aeroplanes in the sky, and dream of flying one someday, Agarwal had revealed in an interview. When she overheard her mother talking about getting her married off when she grows up, she realised she had to tell them of her dream. Eventually, she did but her parents worried about how they would be able to gather the funds.
Agarwal went on to excel in her 12th board exams and took up physics for graduation. Alongside, she signed up for an aviation course and paid the fees with the money she had been saving up for years. For three years, she dedicated herself completely to her education and went on to top her college.
Looking at her skills and dedication, her father agreed to take a loan to pay for her course. Agarwal, grateful for the opportunity, put her heart and soul into it and the rest is history.
That wasn’t all the struggle though—she couldn’t find a job for two years until Air India announced they were hiring seven pilots. She competed against 3,000 others and earned a job in Air India. Her father had a heart attack just four days before her interview, and yet she was able to excel and walk out with an offer. Her first flight was to Dubai.
Air India's initiative of all women team flight
Air India gave the responsibility of flying non-stop on one of the longest routes in the world, to Agarwal and an all-women team. An Air India official had made a statement that flying over the North Pole is immensely challenging and that airlines only send their most skilled pilots for the same. In India, this opportunity was given to Agarwal to lead the journey as the Air India captain.
Agarwal’s team included captains Thanmai Papagari, Akanksha Sonawane and Shivani Manhas. It happened in January 2021 but was earlier intended to occur on Women’s Day the previous year.
Zoya Agarwal as captain of the all-women team to make Air India’s longest non-stop commercial flight
Piloting Air India’s longest non-stop commercial flight, which flew over the North Pole, Agarwal revealed that there were a few struggles. She revealed that they faced problems with equipment, pilot and crew training. They needed polar suits, which are a must when you’re flying closer to the North Pole as the average temperatures can be as less as minus 30 to minus 40 degrees. A polar suit costs around US$5,000 and weighs around 14 kilograms. Before flying, they had to check if the aircraft was fit to take the difficult flight.
However, Agarwal says it was all worth it and believes this all-women crew will tremendously impact the aviation industry.
Zoya Agarwal's advice for budding pilots
Agarwal believes this milestone flight will inspire and empower women in all fields of life. She says that young girls can look at the four women who took this journey and find the strength in them to fulfil their dreams. With that, she advises budding pilots to stay positive and believe in themselves. She adds that no matter what, they should focus on the bigger picture and not let hardships make them lose sight of their ambition.
Conclusion
Agarwal, at such a young age, saved up for the aviation course. She fought against all odds, overcoming the hardships that came her way to achieve her dreams. Today, she is inspiring so many women and young girls with her courage. An achiever, a dreamer, and a woman of immense strength—Zoya Agarwal is indeed a force to be reckoned with.
FAQs
1) Did Zoya Agarwal always want to be a pilot?
It was her dream to fly aeroplanes ever since she was in school.
2) Which are a few of Zoya Agarwal’s favourite destinations to fly to?
Agarwal once shared in an interview that her favourite destinations are “the beaches of California, the beautiful vineyards of British Columbia in Canada, the lakes of the Midwest, parks of New York, the champagne belt of France, beaches of Sardinia and Monaco, strawberry farms of Sweden…”
Also Read: Mithali Raj, Captain Of Indian Women's Cricket Team And The 1st Indian Woman Cricketer To Receive Khel Ratna Award