All-female flight crew in Afghanistan makes history

ISLAMABAD: A routine 90-minute flight in Afghanistan just made history.

The country's only private airline, Kam Air, is celebrating its first flight with an all-female crew, which it says is the first in the South Asian country's history.

Kam Air's first female Afghan pilot, 22-year-old Mohadese Mirzaee, joined Captain Veronica Borysova in piloting the Boeing 737 from the capital city of Kabul to Herat in western Afghanistan on Wednesday, international media reported.

And while they were at work in the cockpit, four female cabin crew serviced passengers for the routine 350-nautical mile flight while it journeyed across the country.

Josh Cahill, a leading airline reviewer and travel YouTuber, was invited onboard the flight to document the endeavour during a recent trip to the Middle East and South Asia. Aside from the flight's historic nature, Cahill said the flight was as smooth running as any that he's in his extensive global journeys, adding that the flight crew consisted of "highly trained pilots."

"The crew has been very professional, just as you would expect from any other airline around the world," Cahill said. "I have joined a few crews at the flight deck around the globe and I couldn't notice any difference."

The historic flight was kept largely under wraps, besides inviting Cahill, as is the norm in the country. Airlines typically do not miss the opportunity to spread the word about their accomplishments but Afghanistan's heightened security discourages high-profile events.

"For security and safety purposes, gatherings or celebrations aren't very common in Afghanistan," Cahill said.