The all-women flight operations included eight women captains and 27 co-pilots for the Boeing B-737 fleet and three captains and 10 co-pilots for the Bombardier Q-400 fleet

International Women's Day got off to a flying start on Friday with private carrier SpiceJet's first flights of the day being operated by all-women crew, an official in Mumbai said.

The all-women operations included pilots, co-pilots, in-flight crew, staff at check-in counters, engineers and security, a company spokesperson said.

It began from around 5 am onwards with SpiceJet's Boeing B-737 fleet taking off from Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru; its Bombardier Q-400 fleet of aircrafts took to the skies from New Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai.

Lending a personal touch to the celebrations, the airline staff gifted pink roses to women travellers on all the flights.

"We salute the spirit of womanhood. This is just a way of showing gratitude to all women who work with us and fly with us," SpiceJet CEO Neil Mills said.

The all-women flight operations included eight women captains and 27 co-pilots for the Boeing B-737 fleet and three captains and 10 co-pilots for the Bombardier Q-400 fleet