Harpreet A De Singh appointed CEO of Alliance Air; becomes first woman to head an Indian air carrier

Harpreet A De Singh, the first woman pilot of Air India, has been appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Alliance Air, a subsidiary of the national carrier. She has become the first woman ever to head an Indian carrier. According to a report by The Times of India, Harpreet is currently Air India’s executive director (flight safety). Air India Chairman and Managing Director (MD) Rajiv Bansal issued an order stating that Harpreet will hold the position until further orders. The report added that Captain Nivedita Bhasin, a senior commander flying Boeing 787 Dreamliner, will be new ED (flight safety) and replace Harpreet. Harpreet was appointed as the first woman commercial pilot of Indian Airlines in 1988. She, however, had to give up her flying job due to health issues. A report by Scroll said that as per data released in 2018 by International Society of Women Airlines Pilots, India has the maximum percentage of women airline pilots. The data also highlighted that the percentage of women pilots in India are more than double the global average. In October last year , Alliance Air, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, made expansion plans that included launch of flights to new destinations. The carrier, last year, also had launched its maiden overseas flight from Chennai to Jaffna making it the 55th destination connected by the airline.