International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8th, is a global occasion that recognizes the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. In recent years, many airlines around the world have taken part in the celebration by organizing various initiatives and events to highlight the important role of women in the aviation industry.
The celebration of this special day has included special flights operated by all-female crews, exclusive airport lounges for women travellers, and various other programs aimed at promoting gender equality and diversity in the industry. This article will take a closer look at some of the ways in which airlines celebrated International Women’s Day this year.
All-Women Crew Flight
Many airlines including Qatar Airways, Nepal Airlines, Finnair, airBaltic, Qatar Airways, Brussels Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Jazeera Airlines, Virgin Australia, and Sri Lankan Airlines operated an All-Women Crew Flight on International Women’s Day.
Moreover, besides the flight crew, some of these flights were also dispatched, operated, and managed by an all-women team in celebration of International Women’s Day. Virgin Australia’s flight VA313 was crewed by an all-female team in the flight deck and cabin, managed by an all-female pit crew team in both ports, and supported by female airport safety officers and air traffic controllers.
For the first time in history, Nepal Airlines, the flag carrier of Nepal operated a flight from Dubai to Kathmandu with an all-female crew on board.
https://twitter.com/NepalAirlinesRA/status/1633356022789328896
Air India
Air India and its subsidiaries also operated over 90 fights to celebrate the occasion. This number also signifies the 90th Anniversary of JRD Tata’s first commercial flight.
“India has the largest number of commercial women pilots in the world and with more Indian women pursuing careers in aviation, we are achieving gender equality in the workforce. We are proud of the women workforce with us at Air India today, and we thank each of them for sending out a powerful message that women can excel in any field,” said Campbell Wilson, CEO and Managing Director of Air India.
Out of the 90 flights operated by all-women cockpit and cabin crew, 40 flights were flown across domestic and international locations by Air India. Air India Express also participated in the celebration by operating ten all-international flights to the Gulf route. Additionally, AirAsia India operated over 40 flights within India with all-female crew members.
This #InternationalWomensDay Air India with Air India Express and Air Asia India is operating 90+ all women crew flights! pic.twitter.com/O8LhkFg9F5
— Air India (@airindia) March 8, 2023
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways Group celebrated its staff with a week-long series of masterclasses, networking opportunities, and interactive tours of its various facilities curated for its female workforce in the week leading up to International Women’s Day.
Qatar Airways Cargo joined in the celebrations and marked 5 March as the day of its first-ever all-female freighter flight. Its scheduled Boeing 777 freighter from Doha to Shanghai was operated entirely by an all-women crew.
We are making history ✈️ An all-female flight deck and ground staff operating a Boeing 777 freighter on Qatar Airways Cargo #InternationalWomensDay2023 pic.twitter.com/3uJRaGQfpP
— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) March 8, 2023
From the ground staff overseeing and handling the cargo to the flight deck crew operating the flight, this is the first time a Qatar Airways Cargo freighter aircraft operated with an all-female crew and all-female ground staff.
The celebrations were eventually concluded on 8 March with special giveaways organised in part with the Shafallah Centre, and a Women in Leadership Café session led by Harvard Professors.
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) March 8, 2023
