Air India becomes the first Indian commercial airline to fly over the North Pole and this historic trip was made on the 15th of August when the country was celebrating it’s 73rd Independence Day. This trip will be marked in history as a milestone. The flight that departs from Delhi for San Francisco flies over the Atlantic or the Pacific ocean but for the first time, it flew over the North Pole.
The airline has set a record by entering zero degrees north. This is not just the greatest news in terms of being historic but it actually reduces the time of the flight, it saves fuel in the range of 2,000 to 7,000 kilograms and that too per flight. This new route will also reduce carbon emissions by a major number between 6,000 to 21,000 kilograms.
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The route of the airline went from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and the North Pole. This plan had been formulated beforehand and Chairman and managing director Ashwini Lohani set this in motion for the flight from Delhi to San Francisco with approximately 243 passengers on board.
As per the Hindu Business Line reports, Amitabh Singh who is the Director of Operations with the airline said, “Planning for the flight was a challenge. A number of issues had to be addressed, including solar activity in the polar region and magnetic interference in communication, to name just two.”
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This is a proud moment for the country as the airline managed to save fuel and time in a non-stop international flight.