“We Had Such Pride for our Airline,” 1990’s Air India Staff Recall

Real ‘Airlift’ staff – aka flight attendants of Air India in 1990 remember the fateful evacuation.

Akshay Kumar in a still from the movie Airlift.

Last week, as Airlift starring Akshay Kumar released on the big screen, some of those engaged in the rescue operations reminisced about the Amman evacuation.

Jignasa Hotha was a flight attendant with Air India for 16 years; in 1990 she had just completed two years, and remembers:

“My parents were worried about my safety since they thought Kuwait would be dangerous, but I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. I insisted that I would not report in sick, and decided to be on the flights that brought back our people from Kuwait.”

Jignasa Hotha was a flight attendant with Air India in 1990. (Photo Courtesy: Jignasa Hotha)

Mr Jitender Bhargava, author of the book The Descent of Air India, was the Head of Corporate Communications at Air India in 1990.

Out flights carried essentials and food from India because of uncertainty regarding availability of food, water and other essentials at the Amman airport. The government paid Air India for the evacuation as many Indians did not have financial resources to pay for the ticket.

<b>Jitender Bhargava, head of Corporate Communications, Air India in 1990</b>

Jitender Bhargava was the Head of Corporate Communications at Air India in 1990.

How Air India Dealt With Distressing Evacuation Problems

The evacuation took almost 12 days to be initiated because the Indian government believed the official Kuwaiti perception – that there would be no Iraqi invasion. The airlift happened from Amman because Baghdad was closed and Iran was out of bounds.

According to Mr Bhargava, “Even though Air India had evacuated Indians from various places in the past, this was significant. It was the largest, longest evacuation and highest in terms of flights operated. It showed that the nation could rise to the occasion and take care of its diaspora in times of need. All staff rose to the occasion – though initially, pilots and cabin crew were concerned about safety. They were reassured when Capt DS Mathur, Director Operations, operated the first flight as a confidence building measure.”

Nimrat Kaur (L) and Akshay Kumar in a still from their movie Airlift.

Many times flights got delayed because one had no idea when the passengers would reach the airport. Most didn’t have travel papers because, as per law, their Kuwaiti employers held their travel documents.

This caused a problem for the Air India crew.

The delays could be long, and the crew put in more than their stipulated hours. In his interview with the Indian Foreign Affairs Journal, January - March 2011, KP Fabian, the then head of the Gulf Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mentions that the problem was a genuine one.

He spoke to Firdaus Khergamwala of The Hindu about the excellent work being done by the Air India crew that was an inspiration to all.

“It was Heart-wrenching,” Recalls Air India Attendant

Flight attendant Amrita Bhatia says,“For us, it was a privilege to bring our country men home. Years later, someone commented that this evacuation should have been the duty of the air force, not civilian carriers. The thought never crossed our minds then. We were doing our duty, and did not think we were being heroic. We did not want to be thanked for it.”

“It was incredibly heart wrenching to see people waiting to be evacuated,” remembers Ms Hotha. (Photo Courtesy: Jignasa Hotha)

Remembers Ms Hotha,“It was incredibly heart wrenching to see people waiting to be evacuated. Children, parents, grandparents. Many families did not get to leave together. An order of priority was drawn up, and the first ones to be evacuated were pregnant women, single and/or older women and dialysis patients. Most were happy to be on the plane but also very distressed to have left behind family and friends.”

The real heroes were those people who had left everything behind, made the difficult journey to Jordan, had no idea what awaited them in India, and were clueless if they could ever return to Kuwait again.

<b>Amrita Bhatia, flight attendant during the airlift</b>

The evacuation lasted from August 13 to October 11, 1990; 488 flights over 59 days brought 111,711 passengers home.

The photograph below was shared by Rita Pradeep Nair, a cabin crew member of Air India in 1990:

A naval frigate in Kuwait harbour which was bombed and set on fire. (Photo Courtesy: Rita Pradeep Nair)

Ms Hotha remembers, “In those days, Air India still retained its rigorous training programme that had been designed under JRD Tata. Our service was reflective of traditional Indian hospitality and this was reflected in the evacuation as well. We were extra compassionate to the helpless people – they had lost so much, and their faces told so many stories.”

Why the Pride for the Maharaja Still Lingers

The Amman evacuation merited an entry into the Guinness World Records – but there are no Standard Operating Procedures that detailed the process and which could be used as a reckoner for future operations.

The apathy saddens many proud Indians – but the pride and nostalgia for the Maharaja lingers.

Flight attendant Jignasa Hotha during a chat with Mother Teresa. (Photo Courtesy: Jignasa Hotha)

I will sound like a dowager air hostess! But those were the good old days when we had such pride for our country and airline. The Amman evacuation made us all proud – it was a good day’s work! We were the brand ambassadors, and Air India was considered to be one of the best. Look what it has come to today... but maybe someday we’ll regain our glory again!

<b>Jignasa Hotha, flight attendant during the airlift</b>

(Preeti Singh is a freelance journalist based in New York and her features appear in a number of national and international publications.)