Air India pilot Captain Raval who operated the first rescue flight to Rome to bring back stranded Indians, opens up on why she agreed to operate the flight and the agony of staying away from her children during self-isolation
Captain Swati Raval is all smiles for the camera with her 18 month-old daughter. Picture/Instagram Humans of Bombay
During the coronavirus pandemic, Captain Swati Raval was the first woman pilot to fly the Air India Boeing 777 to Rome and bring back 263 stranded Indian passengers under the Vande Bharat Mission. The airline pilot was celebrated and lauded for operating a flight during the pandemic to bring back stranded countrymen.
- Captain Swati Raval became the first woman civil pilot to operate a rescue flight during coronavirus
- PM Narendra Modi lauded the crew of Air India Boeing 777 led by Capt Swati Raval and Capt Raja Chauhan for showing utmost courage
- Captain Swati Raval said that the journey from Delhi to Rome was filled with complete silence
- The Air India pilot had to qurantine herself at home and maintain distance from her children
- Captain Swati Raval said she was ready to pilot as many flights to bring back fellow Indians home
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Now, the inspirational Captain has opened up to social media page 'Humans of Bombay' about her journey of rescuing stranded Indians from Rome and what she went through as she had to stay away from her 18-month-old daughter, who would scream, cry and even sneak into her room to meet her mother while being quarantined at home.
Talking about the moment she received the call to pilot the flight, Captain Swati Raval said, "On March 20, I got a call from my team that I had to pilot a flight from Delhi to Rome on the next day as it was a rescue flight to bring back 263 Indian passengers from Rome back to Delhi"
The Air India pilot also revealed details about the quick decision making process which she had to take keeping in mind the sacrifices she had to make after returning by staying away from her children. But the thought of the 263 Indians waiting to come back home is why I accepted the proposal to fly the flight. Raval said, "I had 5 seconds to answer him, and all I could think about was my 5 year old son and 18 month old daughter. The memory of my daughter falling sick a few months before, while I was flying, made me hesitant. But the thought of those 263 Indians desperately waiting to go back home to their families made me agree. So I gathered courage and said, Yes, I will pilot this flight'. I left the next day, kissing my kids goodbye (sic)."
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Throwing light on her flight experience, the Captain said that the flight from Delhi to Rome was the eeriest evening of my life as its was 8 hours of complete silence. But a moment came when she felt that the COVID-19 pandemic doesn't exists at all. Recalling the flight experience Raval said, ""After the passengers in Rome boarded the flight, the vibe instantly changed. For a brief moment, it felt like the pandemic never existed. After landing, the passengers cheered for us before leaving the plane. A passenger even said, 'I never thought a flight home would mean so much’. I felt his excitement to be with his family; After all, I was heading back to mine (sic)."
After the journey, the true challenge for the Air India pilot awaited at home where her children were eagerly waiting for her. As per the guidelines, Raval has to isolate herself and stay quarantined for 14 days, which meant she couldn't hug or even touch her children.
"After what felt like a rescue mission, I headed home. But returning to my family after that flight was different. When my son ran to hug me as I entered, I had to stop him and tell him, 'Mumma can't hug you’' When my baby girl saw me, she had a huge smile on her face as she waddled her way to me but my husband had to pick her up and take her away. She screamed and cried it broke my heart (sic)," Swati Raval said.
Recalling the time she had to isolate herself from her family especially her son and daughter Swati says, "I had to isolate for 14 days before I could meet both my kids. In those 14 days, my daughter couldn't stay away from me. Any chance she got, she tried sneaking into my room. It became a game, where I'd run and she'd try to catch me. It was the best way to explain the situation to my baby."
Extremely proud of this team of @airindiain, which has shown utmost courage and risen to the call of humanity. Their outstanding efforts are admired by several people across India. #IndiaFightsCorona https://t.co/I7Czxep7bj
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 23, 2020
Explaining how happy she was, finally being reunited with her kids after the quarantine, Raval said that the moment she held her kids, she could imagine how those stranded passengers must have felt when they met their loved ones. While concluding her experience Raval said, "And if it means that we can bring families together, I'm ready to pilot as many flights as it takes to bring my fellow Indians home, safe and sound (sic)."
Since being shared online, the post has garnered over 1 lakh likes and counting. Hundreds of users took to the comments section of the post to laud the pilot for her efforts to rescue the stranded Indians from abroad. One user said, "we are so proud of you," while a second user wrote, "Thank you to the pilots to bring back those stranded back home." A third user commented, "I'm just imagining the joy of the reunion with your children!!."
I congratulate my wife Capt Swati Raval to become first civil women pilot to operate rescue flight @airindiain AI122 from Rome to Delhi to rescue 263 indian students. Really proud #CoronavirusPandemic @umashankarsingh @fayedsouza @BDUTT @ravishndtv @ndtvindia @aajtak
— Ajit Kumar Bhardwaj (@AjitKumarAIPC) March 22, 2020
Captain Swati Raval was applauded by Prime Minister Modi for airlifting 263 Indians, who were stranded in Rome and bringing them back to Delhi amid the coronavirus outbreak.
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