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India leads the world with the highest proportion of women commercial pilots, with around 15 per cent of its pilot workforce being female, significantly higher than the global average of five-six per cent.
This strong representation reflects the country's commitment to gender equality in aviation, with airlines supporting female pilots through initiatives like flexible policies and infrastructure to help them succeed in the profession.
Trailblazing figures like Captain Nivedita Bhasin and Captain Zoya Agarwal have inspired many, showcasing the increasing opportunities for women in Indian aviation.
In 2023, 18.1 per cent of the 1,622 commercial pilot licenses issued were to women, marking a 22 per cent increase from the previous year.
In 1936, at just 21 years old, Sarla Thukral became the first Indian woman to fly an aircraft.
She earned her aviation pilot licence and flew solo in a Gypsy Moth aircraft, completing over 1,000 hours of flying.
Her pioneering spirit paved the way for future generations of female aviators in India.
Durba Banerjee broke barriers by becoming India’s first woman commercial pilot in 1956.
She joined Indian Airlines and had an illustrious career, flying various aircraft and setting an example for aspiring female pilots.
Nivedita Bhasin joined Indian Airlines in 1984 and has many firsts to her credit.
She was the co-pilot on the first all-women crew flight on Fokker Friendship F-27 with Captain Saudamini Deshmukh in command in November 1985 on the Calcutta-Silchar route.
On January 1, 1990, at the age of 26, Bhasin became the youngest female pilot in world civil aviation history to command a Boeing 737 aircraft.
With over 8,100 hours of total flying experience, she became a commander on Airbus A300 and later became India's first woman check-pilot on the Airbus A300 aircraft.
On September 19, 2012, Bhasin became the first woman to command an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner on a delivery flight from US to India.
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Captain Zoya Agarwal was born in Mumbai, India, in 1986.
She grew up in a family of doctors and engineers, but from a young age, she had a passion for flying.
As a child, she would often visit the airport with her father and watch planes take off and land.
This fascination with aviation led her to pursue a career as a pilot.
However, there were many challenges. Her parents never wanted her to become a pilot.
"My mum cried the first time I told her I wanted to be a pilot," she said.
According to Agarwal, it took years to persuade her "very, very conservative" parents that she wanted to pursue a life beyond the horizons of an arranged marriage to "a suitable boy."
She had to convince them that she was not letting go of her dream at any cost.
She would wake up at 6 am, attend college till 3.30 pm and then travel by bus from one end of the city to the other end to attend the aviation training classes.
She would get back home by 10 pm, and when there was no electricity at home, she would study under the street lights to finish off her assignments.
During the weekends, she attended the aviation classes, as it was her only chance to prove to her parents that she was serious about flying.
When the results were out, she had topped her college class, graduating with a science degree.
Her parents felt that as she had worked very hard for three years and deserved to pursue her dreams.
Her love for science helped propel her to become a pilot.
Her father assisted her to obtain a loan to finance her pilot training.
She attended the Mumbai Flying Club and obtained her commercial pilot licence.
In 2004, Air India selected her as one of the ten people out of a field of over 3,000 candidates to become co-pilots.
She became the youngest woman pilot in India to fly a Boeing 777 aircraft.
Agarwal garnered attention for her role in saving a passenger’s life on a flight bound for New York in 2015.
After a passenger complained of breathlessness, she decided to turn back the flight and land at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, where the passenger was taken to a nearby hospital.
As a precautionary measure during the covid19 pandemic, the Indian government initiated Vande Bharat Mission in May 2020 to evacuate around 14,800 Indians from twelve countries on sixty-four Air India flights.
Agarwal was chosen to operate the first repatriation flight by the airline.
On January 11, 2021, in a historic achievement, Agarwal captained an all-woman crew that flew a Boeing 777 aircraft above the North pole on an Air India round-the-world flight covering 9,500 miles from New Delhi to San Francisco and back.
This feat involved female professionals across all departments, including pilots, cabin crew, engineers and air traffic controllers, showcasing the capabilities of women in aviation.
Later that year, Agarwal was chosen by the United Nations as its spokesperson for gender equality, encouraging women to fulfil their dreams.
In August 2022, Agarwal was commemorated by the US-based San Francisco International Airport aviation museum for her career in aviation and for her promotion of women's empowerment.
During interviews and public appearances, Agarwal speaks about breaking barriers in a male-dominated field and is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of girls to pursue their dreams, particularly in STEM fields.
She has established a non-governmental organisation, the Udaan Pari (Flying Fairy) Foundation, which supports underprivileged girls in STEM education and aviation.
Currently, Agarwal is pursuing an MBA degree at Columbia Business School, where she is a Feldberg fellow, a prestigious scholarship offered by the Ivy League University. Agarwal is also one of the few Indians to be awarded this scholarship.
There are several programmes and government initiatives to assist Indian women in pursuing careers as commercial pilots.
Established in 2015, Women in Aviation India (WAI) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to encouraging and advancing women in aviation and aerospace careers.
Through mentorship programmes, scholarships and awareness campaigns, WAI plays a pivotal role in supporting aspiring female aviators.
The Indian government aims to achieve a 25 per cent female workforce in the aviation sector by the end of 2025 by providing scholarships and financial assistance for pilot training.
IndiGo, India’s largest airline, aims to have over 1,000 women pilots in its workforce within the next year.
 
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