Women have got potential to lead aviation: Radha Bhatia

Karan Bhardwaj

July 22, 2019
5 min read
Bird Group BOW Exclusive Leaders of India Radha Bhatia Roseate House

Radha Bhatia, chairperson of the Bird Group, refuses to slow down after 45 years of active career. Her goals and zeal to evolve are sharp as ever. Over to Karan Bhardwaj

At first, Radha Bhatia, the chairperson of Bird Group, comes across as a tender, shy and caring woman. But once lights and cameras are on, she transforms effortlessly into a seasoned businesswoman who calculates each breath she takes during a pause. The boss lady might be a strict disciplinarian and a hard taskmaster but warmth in her demeanour clearly forms basic silhouette of the aviation and hospitality businesses run by her company. “A peon is as much welcome in my office as the CEO,” she says unreluctantly.

With conventional upbringing in Meerut, Bhatia completed her schooling from Sophia Girls School and further received a Master’s Degree in Psychology from Raghunath Girls College. “But I got into business by virtue of my marriage. I decided to join my husband’s business as he didn’t have any other support. I started small… by collecting payments but soon, I ventured into sales and marketing successfully,” she recalls. Her husband, Vijay Bhatia, the President of Bird Group, was born in Lahore a year before Partition in 1947. His parents moved to New Delhi as refugees, and the young Bhatia had a humble childhood in a new city. As he grew up, he started a small travel agency, Bird Travels, and soon became a GSA (general sales agent) for German carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG. At this juncture, Radha Bhatia joined the business and the couple bloomed to become pioneers in the aviation industry.

Radha Bhatia is also the force behind The Bird Academy, an IATA and DGCA approved travel & aviation institute formed in the year 1998. Since its inception, the institute creates a pool of talent for aviation and travel industry and has constantly enriched and enlarged its activities and offered more than 20,000 trained professionals who are gainfully employed in India & abroad. “I want to see more women participation in the aviation sector. Things are shaking but we need to be more aggressive,” she says while dropping some shocking statistics. “India may still have the highest percentage of women pilots comprising 11 per cent but globally it is not more than six per cent. In other profiles, like engineering, ATC, it is even lower… hardly 3-4 per cent,” she says.

According to Bhatia, there’s a need to promote STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) among girls. “More girls should take up these subjects,” she says reminding if Kalpana Chawla could reach the moon, any woman can reach anywhere in the world and lead any sector.

***Radha Bhatia, Chairperson, Bird Group | Image: Fotuwalle by DHP Labs | Location: The Roseate, Delhi***

Radha Bhatia also holds the prestigious diplomatic position as the Honorary Consul of Solomon Islands in India after having been selected by the Government of Solomon Islands to represent their country. She is the first woman to hold this distinction in India. She is also associated with various professional associations such as CII, EBG, ASSOCHAM, FICCI, PHD, IACC, FIEO, Export Software Council North India, Indo American Chamber of Commerce and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce.

But her dedication and keen interest in giving back to the society led to the formation of “WE” (Women Empowerment) conference that brings together successful women at one platform to discuss accomplishments and hardships. “I want to return to the society as much as I can,” she says.

Having reached this far, Bhatia also loves spending time with her family, especially grandchildren. “I want my grandchildren to stay close to nature. I try to teach them some gardening and cooking. Nature not only keeps you occupied but also relieves you from a lot of frustrations,” she says.

Plans for retirement? “I am 45 years working and I’m not tired. The day you get the feeling of being tired and retired, that is the end of life!”

We wish good luck to this ‘Leader of India’ in all her great endeavours!

(The interview is a part of Born of Web‘s exclusive series, Leaders of India! Read more interviews here!)

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