India launches first all-woman Hajj flight to Jeddah from Kerala

Gulf Today Report

This flight will go down in the annals of India’s – in particular Kerala’s – aviation history as a landmark journey. The Air India Express that carried passengers to Jeddah from Kozhikode on Thursday night was extra-special, because an all-woman crew manned the flight with 145 female pilgrims.

The trip buttresses the Hajj Committee of India’s pathbreaking move to have only women passengers on board.

The flight, IX 3025, left Kozhikode for Jeddah at 18:45 IST (Indian Standard Time) on Thursday, arriving in Jeddah at 22:45 local time, according to a report in a section of the Indian media, quoting the airline. 

Pilot Kanika Mehra and First Officer Garima Passi were accompanied by cabin crew members Bijitha M B, Sreelakshmi, Sushma Sharma, and Subhangi Biswas, Air India Express said.

Moreover, the ground operations and aircraft maintenance jobs for the flight were also handled by the female staff.

The Haj Committee's initiative and the airline’s cherished values of equality and diversity are on the same page. Women form fifty per cent of Air India Express’ workforce.

Air India Express is Tata Group's international budget arm.