The flight was flagged off by Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs John Barla.
On Thursday, Air India Express successfully completed a first-of-its-kind all-women Haj flight. IX 3025, which was carrying 145 female pilgrims, reportedly departed Kozhikode at 6.45 PM and arrived in Jeddah at 10.45 AM, according to Air India. The first flight out of Kerala was for female pilgrims without a male travel companion (mehram). John Barla, a Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, flagged off the flight.
According to Barla, the flight for women only was a triumphant step towards women's emancipation in the nation. According to a story in The Hindu, the Union Minister also gave the boarding pass to Kozhikode resident Sulaikha Karthikappalli, 76, who was the group's oldest pilgrim.
Images of the female captain, pilot, crew, and passengers at the airport were posted by Air India.
The flight's co-pilot, Punjabi native Kanika Mehra, received assistance from Passi. The four members of the cabin crew were Subhangi Biswas, MB Bijita, Sushama Sharma, and Darpana Rana. 16 flights from Kerala to the Haj will only be for women; 12 will depart from Karipur, 3 from Kannur, and 1 will go from Kochi.
Women make up more than 40% of Air India's workforce, which is controlled by the Tata Group. With 825 out of 1825 pilots, or almost 15% of the cockpit crew, being female, Air India is one of the airlines with the highest proportion of female pilots. Women were also serving as ground handlers and greeting the pilgrims.
While all was going on, an Air India flight arrived in San Francisco on Thursday with 216 passengers and 16 staff members after being diverted from Magadan in far-eastern Russia due to an engine problem that left them detained there for two days.
On June 6, at 4.23 am, Air India's nonstop flight AI-173 to San Francisco departed from Delhi and was due to arrive in San Francisco at 7 am local time the following day.
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