Technoglitch
Core Member
More than just an airline ! Indian Airlines crew recollect the 1990 Kuwait evacuation memories etched in their hearts.
"It was August 13, 1990, I got a call from the movement control department saying that there is an emergency, pack your bags and get ready to leave. I was ready to go little knowing that what I was going into was going to be so shocking."
-Rita Pradeep Nair, Cabin Crew, Indian Airlines
"My supervisor literally ran in saying that Kuwait had been invaded. I didn’t believe him. I thought he was joking. We drew back the curtains and realised that he wasn’t. The troop movement was on and we could se
e a lot of Kuwaitis packing up and running away."
-Sheemin Merchant, Cabin Crew, Indian Airlines
"Passengers had a huge smile on their face when they saw the aircraft which had come to take them back home. It was like a lost child returning to its mother."
-Rita Pradeep Nair, Cabin Crew, Indian Airlines
====================================================
The Evacuation:
Meanwhile, Air India was leading the evacuation drive. Retired Captain Waghmare who was with Air India said, “We would pick up passengers from Jordan, bring them to Dubai and from there they were flown by another crew to Mumbai.”
“Evacuees came to Amman in buses and vans from Kuwait and Iraq. It was a sea of people, and they just ran towards the aircraft when they spotted it. It was difficult for us. Everyone wanted to get into the plane as they were all scared for their life,” he said.
But such flights are rewarding.
“After arriving at the Bombay airport, they thanked us profusely. They wouldn’t stop. Even though it was a difficult process, but it felt good. We were happy at the fact that we could do something for the country,” Waghmare said.
"It was August 13, 1990, I got a call from the movement control department saying that there is an emergency, pack your bags and get ready to leave. I was ready to go little knowing that what I was going into was going to be so shocking."
-Rita Pradeep Nair, Cabin Crew, Indian Airlines
"My supervisor literally ran in saying that Kuwait had been invaded. I didn’t believe him. I thought he was joking. We drew back the curtains and realised that he wasn’t. The troop movement was on and we could se
e a lot of Kuwaitis packing up and running away."
-Sheemin Merchant, Cabin Crew, Indian Airlines
"Passengers had a huge smile on their face when they saw the aircraft which had come to take them back home. It was like a lost child returning to its mother."
-Rita Pradeep Nair, Cabin Crew, Indian Airlines
====================================================
The Evacuation:
Meanwhile, Air India was leading the evacuation drive. Retired Captain Waghmare who was with Air India said, “We would pick up passengers from Jordan, bring them to Dubai and from there they were flown by another crew to Mumbai.”
“Evacuees came to Amman in buses and vans from Kuwait and Iraq. It was a sea of people, and they just ran towards the aircraft when they spotted it. It was difficult for us. Everyone wanted to get into the plane as they were all scared for their life,” he said.
But such flights are rewarding.
“After arriving at the Bombay airport, they thanked us profusely. They wouldn’t stop. Even though it was a difficult process, but it felt good. We were happy at the fact that we could do something for the country,” Waghmare said.
