AKIPRESS.COM - For Women's Day this year, Air India operated the worlds longest all women-crew flight from New Delhi to San Francisco on March 6, reports NDTV.

The 14,000 km journey took a flight time of approximately 17 hours - the longest non-stop flight.

A team of four pilots and 10 cabin crew were on-board the Boeing 777-LR that departed New Delhi at 2:35 am on Sunday. The flight which left on March 6 will return on March 8.

Speaking to NDTV, Captain Ramya Kirti Gupta, a First Officer said, "The flight is a symbol of women empowerment and it will encourage women to step out of their comfort zone and succeed in male dominated arenas too."

Captain Kirti, a commercial pilot since 2007, took her first gliding class at a young age of 13.

Air India celebrates International Women's Day every year by deploying all women crews on select international and domestic routes.

This year the entire flight operations from cockpit crew, cabin crew, check-in staff, doctor, trimmer, ground handling staff to the traffic control will be handled by women.

The journey began with all four pilots sitting in the cockpit for the first hour and then a Commander and a First Officer taking turns to rest. The duo who took off are the ones to land and alternates during the return flight.