Why Capt Zoya Agarwal's flight into US aviation museum is significant

Becomes first female Indian pilot to join those who've contributed to advancement of commercial aviation

It boasts of over 150,000 objects, including historical records of airlines, photographs, uniforms, luggage labels, among others. And now the Louis A Turpen Aviation Museum at San Francisco airport has an India connection, too.

The museum has included Air India pilot Captain Zoya Agarwal in its oral history programme for piloting a polar route flight between San Francisco and Bengaluru in January 2021.

Polar flights fly over the icy Arctic regions that help airlines save time and fuel.

While Air India operated a polar route flight between Delhi and San Francisco for the first time in August 2019, the 2021 flight was special because it was the first to be operated by an all-woman cockpit crew. Incidentally, it was Air India’s inaugural flight between the two cities.

“Captain Agarwal is the first female Indian pilot to be included within our oral history programme, and joins a group of remarkable people who have all contributed to the advancement of commercial aviation,” Megan Callan, assistant director, museum affairs, SFO Museum, said in an emailed response to Business Standard.

“Her participation with our programme is notable due to her remarkable career achievements, one of the most recent and celebrated of which — the all-female flight to Bengaluru, via the North Pole, in 2021 — originated here at San Francisco International Airport,” Callan added.

The aviation museum is a part of the SFO Museum, which includes more than 20 galleries inside the airport terminal.

The oral history programme of the museum, which has been in place since 1996, brings to life stories and experiences of people who have worked in the aviation industry. This includes a collection of interviews that are transcribed and bound for permanent placement in the collection of SFO Museum. These can also be used within exhibitions or for research purposes by the museum's curatorial team or outside scholars, Callan said.

Agarwal’s colleagues who flew the first polar route flight included Captains Thanmai Papagari, Akanksha Sonawane and Shivani Manhas. The airline’s then head of flight safety, Captain Nivedita Bhasin, accompanied them on board.

Air India did not respond to an email query.

Polar route operations require an airline to take specific measures with regard to unscheduled diversions (in remote areas of Russia), fuel monitoring, navigation, communication and pilot training. Pilots are also required to carry special suits to protect them from extreme cold.

Air India tied up with an agency in Russia to provide temperature-controlled buses and arrange hotel accommodation for passengers. 

Asian, European and US carriers have been operating polar routes prior to 2019. Air India’s flight planning did not consider routes beyond 78 degree North latitude because of lack of procedures. It began operating these routes from 2019 after receiving a nod from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

 SFO Museum: Aviation history at an airport

1. SFO Museum has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1999 and remains the only such accredited museum at an airport in the United States.
2. The Louis A Turpen Aviation Museum is a unique facility: it is an architectural adaptation of the lobby of the airport’s 1937 terminal building.
3. The aviation collection grows at a remarkable rate of between 5,000 and 7,000 objects annually, largely thanks to the generosity of donors. It currently numbers over 150,000 objects.