Indian pilot Zoya Agarwal's record-breaking flight over North Pole lands her spot in US aviation museum

NEW DELHI: Captain Zoya Agarwal, a senior Air India pilot who is the first Indian woman to fly over North Pole, covering a record-breaking distance of around 16,000km, has become the only human being to find a place in San Franciso's SFO Aviation Museum.
In 2021 for the first time, an all-women pilot team of Air India, led by Agarwal, covered the world's longest air route from San Franciso in the United States to Bengaluru in India, covering the North Pole en route.
The US-based aviation museum was impressed by the achievement of the Air India women pilots and they offered their leader a place in the museum's program.
While talking to ANI, Captain Agarwal said that she is the only pilot to find a place in the Luis A Turpen Aviation Museum, which is commonly known as SFO Aviation Museum.
"I was amazed to see that I'm the only living object over there, I am just humbled honestly. I can't believe that I am a part of the prestigious aviation museum in the US," Captain Zoya told ANI.
Recently, the SFO museum commemorated the Indian pilot's extraordinary career in aviation and her advocacy for promoting women's empowerment across the world, inspiring millions of girls and youth to meet their dreams.
"She is the first Indian female pilot to be included in our program. In addition to her remarkable career with Air India, including her record-breaking flight from SFO to Bengaluru in 2021 with an all-female crew, her positivity about the world and her commitment to helping other girls and women achieve their dreams is deeply inspiring. Being able to record and share captain Agarwal's personal history allows SFO museum to preserve the excitement and the historic nature of her extraordinary career with current and future generations of aviation enthusiasts," an official from the San Francisco Aviation museum told ANI.
"We are honoured by your participation, and we hope to educate and inspire future generations," the SFO Aviation Museum added.
After being honoured by the SFO museum, captain Agarwal said, "I can't believe that I am the first Indian woman to be in a museum in the US, if you ask the eight-year-old girl that use to sit on her terrace, looking at stars and dream about being a pilot. It's an honour that the US recognised an Indian woman at their museum... it's a great moment for me and my country," captain Agarwal said.
Captain Agarwal is also a spokesperson on gender equality at the United Nations (UN).
The number of women pilots in India has increased rapidly, according to the International Society of Women Airlines, which says India holds the largest proportion of female pilots in the world, accounting for around 12.4 per cent of all pilots, compared to 5.5 per cent in the US.