Melbourne Airport joined Air India and Airservices Australia to mark International Women’s Day with all-female crews on inbound and outbound Delhi flights on 7-8 March 2025, supported by women on the ground and in the control tower.
The flights were part of a joint initiative between Melbourne Airport, Air India and Airservices Australia to showcase women in aviation for IWD 2025.
The Indian national carrier crewed its inbound AI308 service from Delhi and outbound AI309 flights from Melbourne with an all-female team in the cockpit and cabin.
The aircraft was serviced on the tarmac at Melbourne Airport by a female ground team and managed by female air traffic controllers, while female engineers, security personnel, hub control and rostering staff serviced flight AI308.
Air India CEO & Managing Director Campbell Wilson said the airline took great pride in the contribution made by its female team members.
India has the highest percentage of female flight deck crew in the world – women hold more than 15 per cent of the nation’s commercial pilot licences compared to around 10 per cent in Australia.
Air India is a global leader with 16 per cent of its flight deck positions and almost 15 per cent of leadership roles filled by women.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said the flights highlighted how far the traditionally male-dominated industry had come while recognising the work still to do.
“The saying, ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’, is true and I hope shining a light on these amazing women inspires other young women to follow in their footsteps,” she said.
“But I also look forward to the day when we no longer need to call out these roles, because we have an equal representation of women in our aviation workforce.”
Airservices Australia CEO Rob Sharp said women air traffic controllers at Melbourne Air Traffic Control tower were proud to facilitate the all-female flights.
“International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to celebrate the talented women across our organisation, from our air traffic controllers through to our aviation rescue firefighters and engineers and women leaders,” he said.
“Airservices is making significant strides forward in gender parity: we now have 50 per cent women representation on our board and 49 per cent of our air traffic control line leaders are women.”
Air India recently cut back its Melbourne-Mumbai route and announced a codeshare agreement with Virgin Australia.
