The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : All-women crew scale new heights

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Friday, Mar 09, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

All-women crew scale new heights

P.Oppili and Susan Muthalaly

For the first time, they did Chennai-Mumbai-Chennai sector

TAKING TO THE AIR: The all-women cockpit and cabin crew at the Indian's administrative office in Meenambakkam on Thursday. — Photo: S.S.Kumar

CHENNAI: Flight IC 971 took to the skies with an all-women crew on Thursday in celebration of International Women's Day.

Indian (formerly Indian Airlines) Airbus A-320 did the Chennai-Mumbai-Chennai sector with captain M. Deepa assisted by co-pilot Minakshi Tayal. The five cabin crew on board were also women. When asked if the absence of the male crew made a difference, Ms. Deepa said, "Not really. A professional is a professional. Whether they are male or female doesn't make a difference." She said the job is a huge responsibility, and over her five years as captain she has had to deal with difficulties such as bad weather, passenger handling and aircraft problems. She has 4,000 hours of flying experience to her credit.

The cabin crew, however, said that it was always handy to have a man around. Manu, an airhostess, said, "We can handle unruly passengers, but having a male member on the crew helps."

Before the flight took off, the crew and passengers took a pledge to treat women on a par with men and give them equal opportunity. The passengers gave the all-women team bouquets, chocolates and greeting cards.

Woman pilots

Indian has about 50 women pilots, 20 of whom are captains.

Ms. Deepa said that Indian was one of the first airlines to appoint a woman pilot, and now has the maximum number of woman pilots.

Co-pilot Ms. Tayal said that women pilots are no longer a novelty with Indian, but doing the all-women crew flight proves that they can do it without men.

Ms. Deepa said, "In India, women are coming out of their shells now. The country has opportunities for every single woman... If I can become a pilot, anyone can."

Indian authorities said it was the first time that an all-women crew was flying the Chennai-Mumbai-Chennai sector.

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