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Operation Rahat: Air India crew narrate experience of conducting evacuation flights

Whether it was the 1990 Gulf War or the Yemen crisis, Air India and erstwhile-Indian Airlines played a pivotal role in rescuing many Indians and foreigners from conflict zones. The national carrier's crew speak to Roshni Nair about what it is like to conduct an evacuation flight

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Air India crew with evacuees
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In the wee hours of August 1, 1990, Air India (AI) cabin crew member Shirin Bhanot* landed at Kuwait International Airport, then checked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel with colleagues. A day later, Iraqi Republican Guards overran Kuwait and eventually sparked the Gulf War. What was to be a two-three day layover became an 18-day stay for Bhanot and the flight crew.

"I saw troop movement from my room and Kuwaitis leaving in droves. Shops were looted. There were curfews," says Bhanot, who retired after 33 years of service. "We were asked not to watch TV or use lights that filter from under the door. We later learned it was because Iraqi Republican Guards were staying in the hotel."

Meanwhile, over 1100kms away on August 13 that year, Margaret D'Lima and Rita Nair stood on the stepladder of the Airbus A300 at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan. Air hostesses with erstwhile Indian Airlines (IA) – now merged with Air India – they were two of the first lot that brought thousands of Indian and foreign evacuees to India. The month-long rescue effort, during which an estimated 111,000 people were flown from Amman to Mumbai, culminated into the biggest evacuation drive by a civil airliner. It's a Guinness Record that still stands.

"Evacuees came to Amman in buses and vans from Kuwait and Iraq. It was a sea of people, and they just ran towards the IA aircraft when they saw it." Nair remembers. D'Lima adds: "Hardly anybody had passports and luggage. Some even had no shoes. Almost all of them had had no food for days. It was heartrending."

Almost 25 years after the Gulf War, AI crew formed a crucial part of the recently-concluded Operation Rahat (India's Yemen evacuation drive) as they and Indian armed forces rescued approximately 4000 Indians and hundreds of foreign nationals from Yemen in a week. One of them, senior crew member Trishna Sukumar*, was on standby duty before she was told, just after 9pm, to leave for Muscat, Oman with three other crew and then proceed to Djibouti. They had just 45 minutes to get customs and immigration clearances before the 10pm take-off. They managed.

The wait for flight clearance in conflict zones can be harrowing, and Sukumar is testament to this. After spending two days in Muscat and almost three days in Djibouti waiting for the green light to fly to Yemen capital Sana'a, they finally got the nod on April 3, 2015 – after Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh negotiated with Djibouti and Yemen authorities. Evacuees were given just 15 minutes to board by Sana'a International Airport authorities. "Many were crying, but some were relieved. We'd see smoke all around the airport (due to Saudi air strikes) and even hear firing. It wasn't safe. But we couldn't show the fear on our faces," shares Sukumar, who was on duty for 14 days straight.

Not much changed in the way AI conducted flights in Amman and Sana'a, save for one thing: no longer could evacuees board without passports. A purser recalls how passenger manifests in Sana'a were made after people had boarded. "The Indian Embassy in Sana'a arranged for 'emergency passports', which are white in colour, for those who didn't have their original passports. We can't accept anybody without passports."

Stricter passport norms even during crises are for a reason. A captain with the national carrier, who piloted evacuation flights from Tripoli, Cairo and Tunisia, underlines the dangers of such flights. Civilian aircraft wait hours on the tarmac for clearances, during which time vigilance is important. Plane lights may sometimes have to be switched off to avoid detection. "In most crises, there's a shortage of airport staff to conduct checks or frisk passengers. So we're always alert, also on the lookout for firing in the area."

Other challenges include route changes and dealing with Air Traffic Controls (ATCs). Retired Captain Arun Waghmare of (then) IA, who conducted some Amman evacuation flights, recounts a near-miss with a Royal Jordanian (RJ) aircraft due to an error by Saudi ATC officials. "I think they were bugged with the frequency of IA flights as they weren't used to so much traffic. Fortunately the RJ pilot and I spotted one another at around 150ft, and both swerved to avoid a catastrophe."

Despite the risks, Waghmare says such flights are rewarding. He cites the time he convinced officials to permit a woman to get her dog on board as she was inconsolable at having to leave him behind. "I asked some ladies to give their nylon hairbands so we could create a makeshift muzzle. The dog was allowed to travel on the condition that it wouldn't disturb passengers," he laughs.

The responsibilities are endless. And since evacuees' needs come first, many crew themselves go without food for hours on end. At one point, says the AI purser, the crew had divided an apple into 12 segments and distributed it among themselves.

After the 18-day stay in Kuwait, Shirin Bhanot and her fellow crew members were finally driven to Baghdad via Basra after then Foreign Minister IK Gujral gave them clearance. Packed like sardines, they were on the road for 17 hours before things got worse. Their driver, who lost the way, had led them to a military camp. Luckily, the crew's first officer, who knew some Arabic, assured the soldiers they were Indian. "When they heard that, they said 'Shashi Kapoor! Amitabh Bachchan!' Those two names really helped us," chuckles Bhanot.

Five days after she landed in Mumbai, Bhanot went on duty to do the Amman evacuation flights that concluded in mid-October 1990. Wasn't it gruelling after the ordeal she'd been through?

"No, why?" she asks, a shrug in her voice. "In fact the crew who do these flights never complain about them."

Seems true, for it's the purser who signs off with this statement: "It's very fulfilling. The only thing that pinches is when people say 'Air India faltu hai'. We're far from perfect, but maybe we deserve a little respect?"

*names changed on request

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