Until now, the Indian Airport fortress was under the protection of an all-male team of firefighters. But, in a historic move, the reign is soon going to change as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) appointed India's first ever woman firefighter.   

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Meet Kolkata's Taniya Sanyal, the woman who has been instrumental in this epic shift. Reportedly, the state-run authority has 3,310 firefighters at its airports. FYI fire service is a mandatory condition for any flight to land anywhere. Taniya will join this fleet of firefighters in a month after she completes her training in Kolkata.  

AAI did not have recruitment norms for women firefighters until now, as it was primarily considered to be a profession for men.

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An elated Taniya told The Times Of India, “It is a matter of pride and great honour for me. I always wanted to do something challenging. Firefighting is very noble calling.” We are proud of you too Taniya. 

AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra, the man behind this monumental change, said “We were facing a shortage of firefighters due to expansion and new airports coming up. We brought in contemporary rules and decided to recruit women in this field which required criteria for physical standards.”

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He further added, “I had made similar rule changes in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for firefighters. We got hold of them and then set the standards for recruiting women firefighters. This is the first time a woman has joined our ranks in this field and it will continue now.”

Taniya has been appointed for AAI's eastern region airports that include Kolkata, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Raipur, Gaya, and Ranchi; and will be working at one of these locations after her training is complete.