Summary Anny Divya becomes the youngest commander of Boeing 777 at the age of 30. Photo: Facebook
(Web Desk) - Captain Anny Divya has become the world s youngest woman commander ever to fly a Boeing 777 airplane.
At age 30, Divya explained her life’s journey and struggles that she had to overcome to achieve her goals.
Born in Pathankot to an Army official father, Divya says that she has always wanted to be a pilot and despite all the discouragement from the society, she was able to succeed.
She said that her parents have been supportive and encouraging even though people in her local community always pushed them to not allow her to take flying lessons, Hindustan Times reported.
She said that most of her classmates planned on taking up engineering or becoming doctors but she wanted to be a pilot. She was one of the few girls who chose this path which was not a common career option among girls.
Anny Divya completed her training when she was 19 years old. Photo: Anny Divya
Belonging to a middle-class family, one of the obstacles was to cover the financial costs of the lessons. But she said her ambition to fly led her to this point and none of it could have happened without her parents’ support. "I had issues like financial problems, language barrier and cultural differences that I overcame with the support of my family and friends", she said.
She enrolled with the flying school Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi when she was just 17. Divya worked hard, earning herself a scholarship and completing her training at 19 years old.
She was employed by Air India, and continued her steady rise up the ranks, learning to fly a Boeing 737 in Spain before completing advanced training in London which saw her fly a Boeing 777, the world’s largest twin jet, The Independent reported.
“I had the option to take command on a 737 but [the Boeing 777] is the plane I always wanted to fly in command so I had to wait a bit longer,” said Divya. “This is what I wanted to do.”
Divya said she had trouble with speaking English and felt it was holding her back. But she didn’t give up learning and encourages other people to do the same.
