Bharat Ki Beti and a role model for today’s youth
Captain Zoya is a name that’s synonymous with valor, patriotism and courage. Popularly known as #bharatkibeti, Captain Zoya Aggarwal is a renowned Aviator with several accolades to her credit. Professionally she is an Indian commercial pilot and commander who has flown for Air India since 2004. Recognising her extraordinary fervor to excel, in 2006, Times of India highlighted her as “a rising female aviator of India”.
Since then her career as an Aviator has been nothing short of exemplary. In 2013 she became the youngest Indian woman pilot to fly a Boeing-777. In 2015 she garnered praise for her bold and timely decision to turn back a New York bound flight after a passenger complained of breathlessness. The crucial emergency landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, saved the passenger’s life.
In March 2020, in the peak of the Covid 19 pandemic, Captain Zoya served as a frontline volunteer and co-piloted the first repatriation flight to India. She was also a team leader of the Government’s Vande Bharat Mission to evacuate Indians from 12 countries during the pandemic.
2021 was yet another defining year for Captain Zoya. She was a source of pride to all Indians when she made aviation history for successfully steering a four-member cockpit team and all-female crew on India’s longest non-stop commercial flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru. The feat made her the first Indian female pilot to fly over the North Pole, covering a record-breaking distance of approximately 16,000km and flying non-stop for 17 hours. She shares, “On 9th January 2021, I became the first woman in the world to fly across opposite poles.” After successfully completing the flight, Zoya and other crew members were welcomed at the Bengaluru Airport with banners and applause from the Air India team. Not only did she make the Nation proud with her achievement, but was also globally recognized with a place of honor at San Francisco’s SFO Aviation Museum.
Another proud achievement was in 2021, when The United Nations chose Captain Zoya as its Spokesperson for Generation Equality, and UN Women flagged off International Youth Day with her, the first time ever a female pilot from Air India was represented on its platform.
A strong advocate for women’s rights in India, she urges every young girl to follow her dreams. She reminisces,“ In the 90s, growing up as a girl in a middle class family meant that you weren’t allowed to dream beyond your means. Still, I’d look at the planes in the sky & wonder, ‘Maybe if I was flying one of those planes, I could touch the stars. I want to tell every girl child and woman to continue dreaming irrespective of the environment. Please dream and give all your hard work and dedication. Do not give up!”
