Prem Mathur is the first

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n woman

commercial pilot A commercial pilot licence (CPL) is a type of pilot licence that permits the holder to act as a pilot of an aircraft and be paid for their work. Different licenses are issued for the major aircraft categories: airplanes, airships, balloons, glid ...

and started flying for Deccan Airways. She obtained her commercial pilot's licence in 1947. In 1949, she won the

National Air Race The National Air Races (also known as Pulitzer Trophy Races) are a series of pylon and cross-country races that have taken place in the United States since 1920. The science of aviation, and the speed and reliability of aircraft and engines grew ...

Early life

Mathur was born on 17 January 1910.

Career

Mathur was rejected by eight airlines before she got a job at Deccan Airways in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

in 1947. She was offered the job at the age of 38 where she became the first Indian woman to fly a commercial plane. She received her license from the

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

Flying Club. She flew her first plane as a co-pilot. During her career at Deccan Airways, she flew high-profile people like

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...

and Lady

Mountbatten The Mountbatten family is a British dynasty that originated as an English branch of the German princely Battenberg family. The name was adopted on 14 July 1917, three days before the British royal family changed its name to “Windsor”, by ...

. Mathur wanted the full command of the cockpit but was denied the same by Deccan Airways, even after fulfilment of the required flying hours by her. Soon after, she moved to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

where she became G.D. Birla's private jet pilot. After that she joined

Indian Airlines Indian Airlines was a division of Air India Limited. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia. It was a division of Air India Limited after m ...

in 1953 and worked there for the rest of her career span.

Awards

In 1949, Mathur won the

Personal life

Mathur married Hari Krishna Mathur who hails from

, Uttar Pradesh and they had six children together. Mathur died at the age of 82 on 22 December 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathur, Prem Indian women aviators Aviation pioneers Indian aviators Commercial aviators 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people 1910 births 1992 deaths Indian women commercial aviators