Indian women will first fly a non- stop passenger plane from Mumbai to New York on Monday to observe the 100th International Women's Day, the Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times reported on Sunday.

A Boeing 777-200 long-range plane will be operated by two female commanders named Rashmi Miranda and Sunita Narula, while the other crews are all women, the paper quoted a Saturday's statement by the flight's sponsor -- the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), which operates Air India, as saying.

The statement said it will be the first time for the Indian women to pilot a long-distance passenger plane from Mumbai to New York without stopping during the 14-hour flight.

Some female pilots of the NACIL are flying on the national and international flights and more women will operate planes in the future, said the statement.

The NACIL is a large government-owned aviation company of India, having nearly 100 domestic and international flights every day.

(Xinhua News Agency March 7, 2010)