New Delhi, November 1: Harpreet A De Singh scripted history by becoming the first female pilot in India to head an airliner. The record was registered in her name after national carrier Air India on Saturday announced her as the next chief executive officer (CEO) of Alliance Air Aviation, a subsidiary of the state-owned company. Harpreet A De Singh Named CEO of Alliance Air Aviation as Air India Appoints New Chiefs of Three Subsidiaries.

Along with Harpreet, another woman pilot - Captain Nivedita Bhasin - has been charged to takeover the post which the former would be vacating. Harpreet, who will shortly takeover as the CEO of Alliance Air, was currently deputed as executive director for flight safety in Air India.

Who Is Harpreet A De Singh? Facts to Know About Her

Harpreet is a licensed pilot, having obtained her certificates and requisite permits for flying commercial planes from the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) in 1988. In the same year, she was also selected by Air India to serve as a pilot -- but the role could not be discharged by her due to health issues, reports said.

Harpreet's expertise and above par skills were, however, put to use as Air India assigned her as a personnel for air safety. In the years to come, she along with Bhasin and Captain Kshamta Bajpai emerged as leading female pilots of India. They are part of the Indian Women Pilot Association -- the organisation which was briefly headed by Harpreet.

Apart from emerging as the first CEO of an Indian airliner, she was also the first woman pilot to be appointed as chief of flight safety, and the first to head the department monitoring quality managements systems. Among her previous roles also include heading the emergency response in an airline.

Harpreet was conferred with the coveted honour of Bharat Ratna Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Excellence Award in January 2020, for her “outstanding personal achievement and distinguished services to the nation."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 01, 2020 08:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).