Jaipur woman pilot lands first Boeing 777 at city airport

JAIPUR: A Boeing 777 landed for the first time at the Jaipur International Airport on Friday afternoon. It is the world’s largest twin-jet engine aircraft which usually operates from Delhi and Mumbai.
The aircraft was piloted by Captain Parul Shekhawat, whose parents reside in Jaipur and who has been flying for last 14 years. The flight on Friday carried 340 Haj pilgrims.
“The landing of Boeing 777 was not possible before 2017 due to expansion of the runway at the Jaipur International Airport and this is the first scheduled flight which landed here for Haj pilgrims since it has a very large capacity for passengers,” said an airport official. Previously, Haj passengers would usually fly in Boeing 747 which is also a part of the Air India fleet. Nearly 6,000 Haj passengers are flying in this season, with first flight to the holy passage taking off earlier this month.
The pilot, Shekhawat who started flying in 2005, has been flying Boeing 777 for last two years, after she was promoted as Captain. Being one of the largest aircraft in the world, Boeing 777 usually flies on international routes including to USA and has an overall height of 61.5 feet and is 242.3 feet in length.
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