In January of this year, an all-female cockpit crew made aviation history by flying the world's longest air route. Captain Zoya Agarwal of Air India, who flew from San Francisco to Bengaluru, talked to Humans of Bombay about her childhood dream of being a pilot, how she managed to accomplish it, and how she made history as the first woman in the world to fly between the poles.

Ms. Agarwal says, "In the 90s, growing up as a girl in a lower middle class family meant that you weren't allowed to dream beyond your means."

And then, she decided she wanted to be a pilot when she was eight years old.

"I'd go to the terrace and look up at the sky, thinking, "Maybe if I was flying one of those planes, I could touch the stars," she says.

Back to her story, She was initially reluctant to tell her parents about her dream, particularly after overhearing her mother's claim that when Zoya grows up, she would have to be married off into a good family. She added, "I excelled in my 12th boards and took up Physics for graduation."

She also applied for an aviation course, which she will pay for using the money she had saved over the years. She added, "I excelled in my 12th boards and took up Physics for graduation."

Zoya Agarwal attended college for three years before fleeing to another part of the city to pursue her aviation degree. She'd get home about 10 p.m., sit down, and finish her homework. She added, "When I topped college, I went to Papa and asked, "Now, will you allow me to pursue my dream?' Hesitantly, Papa agreed to take a loan to pay for my course. I put my heart and soul into it and excelled."

Despite this, she had to wait two years for a career opening, which came in the form of an Air India vacancy for seven pilots, for which Ms. Agarwal qualified among 3,000 other candidates and received an offer letter. But even this was not easy, 4 days before for her job exam, Zoya's father had a heart attack, and she did not want to leave her father in that condition.

"There, I cleared all rounds and joined Air India as a First Officer! In 2004, I flew my first flight to Dubai-I'd finally touched the stars!" After that, there was no turning back for the pilot. She paid off her father's loans and surprised her mother with diamond earrings. Ms. Agarwal also offered to lead relief efforts during the pandemic.

Zoya Agarwal attached another feather to her hat this year when she took charge of Flight AI176, which flew the longest distance between San Francisco and Bengaluru. To get to Bengaluru, the pilot flew across the North Pole and over the Atlantic Ocean.

"I led the first all-women cockpit to fly the world's longest air route and on 9th January 2021, I became the first woman in the world to fly across opposite poles," she said.

Ms. Agarwal and the other crew members were greeted at the airport by the Air India team with banners and cheers after the successful completion of the 17-hour journey. She has also collected letters from women who have been influenced by her since the trip.

On Facebook, the post documenting her journey has racked up nearly 10,000 'reactions' and hundreds of comments and 'shares'.