Full flight: The Air India's all women flight AI173 is set to mark International Women's Day (photo credit: Air India) [/caption] "The flight is a symbol of women empowerment and it will encourage women to step out of their comfort zone and succeed in male-dominated arenas too," pilot Ramya Kirti Gupta told broadcaster NDTV.
International Women’s Day is being marked around the world on Tuesday, but it'll also be noted in the skies thanks to Air India.
The airline is operating its first-ever all-women crew flight from Delhi to San Francisco.
Flight AI 173 also features the longest ever women-only flight crew, covering a total distance of 14,600kms in 17 hours.
Captain Kshamta Bajpayee and Captain Shubani Singh are heading up the crew of females on the Boeing 777-LR, and the airline has received praise for its efforts.
The four pilots and 10 cabin crew took off from Delhi on Sunday and will return on March 8.
Ten things to know about International Women's Day:
1. While International Women's Day is now largely aimed at inspiring women across the world and celebrating their achievements, its roots are in movements campaigning for better pay and voting rights.
2. The first National Women’s Day was marked on 28 February 1909 in the United States after a declaration by the Socialist Party of America.
3. During an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen the following year, Clara Zetkin, leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, suggested the idea of an International Women's Day.
She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day. The idea was met with unanimous approval.
4. 1911 saw IWD honoured for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on March 19. Over a million people attended rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination.
5. On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1965, it was declared as a non working day in the USSR.
6. International Women's Day was transferred to 8 March that same year and has remained the global date for the event ever since.
7. In 1975, the United Nations gave official sanction to International Women's Day and began sponsoring it.
8. The United States now designates the whole month of March as 'Women's History Month'.
9. IWD is also an official holiday in 15 countries including China, Ukraine and Vietnam.
10. Over the past few years Google have marked the occasion with a “Google Doodle”, changing their logo on the search engine’s homepage to reflect the occasion. Sky News are marking today's 100th International Women's Day with an all female line-up.
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