Look: Tallest woman in world takes first flight; airline removes six seats for her

The tallest woman in the world has officially taken her first flight.

7-foot-tall Rumeysa Gelgi travelled for the first time in September on board a 13-hour flight with Turkish Airlines to San Francisco. According to MailOnline, the 25-year-old suffers from a rare genetic condition called Weaver syndrome that causes rapid growth, making her rely on a wheelchair to get around.

Gelgi had always been too tall to travel on planes – but Turkish Airlines removed six economy seats during her maiden flight and converted them into a special stretcher for the journey, which ended up being 19 hours long in total.

Gelgi took to Instagram to share her experience shortly after the flight. "This was my first flight", she wrote, "but it certainly won't be the last." She profusely thanked the aircraft personnel that made her journey possible for their "kindness and dedication", including airport staff, the Turkish Airlines team, medical teams, her cabin supervisor, and customs police.

From now on, I will be very honoured and happy to fly to different parts of the world... A heartfelt thank you to every single person involved in my journey."

The Guinness World Records confirmed Gelgi to be the world's tallest living female last month. This is the second time the 25-year-old has achieved a world record, after previously being named the tallest teenager alive in 2014.

Since then, she has used her social media presence to help advocate for others with similar conditions.

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