Aboard The Vande Bharat Flight To Lagos!

Rishabh Kapur, Air India’s Commander of Boeing 787, who steered an Air India flight on the daring ‘Rahat Operation’ in 2015 to bring back stranded Indians in Yemen, in the midst of a deadly conflict there with Saudi Arabia, has now served the country by flying an aircraft to Lagos as part of the Vande Bharat mission. The mission involved flying back stranded Indians across the world during the lockdown imposed by the Indian government. Here’s how life changed for him after the pandemic…

Rishabh Kapur

The aviation industry is indeed stranded due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As per an assessment by Crisil Advisory Infrastructure, there would be around Rs.25,000 crore loss to this sector and at least 6-8 quarters required to regain the pre-pandemic economic position. It’s not surprising therefore that professionals of this sector at all levels are facing salary cuts and would perhaps face job losses soon, in large numbers. Retrenchment has already begun in major airways across the world.

Amidst this paralysis in the air, the Indian government launched the ‘Vande Bharat’ mission to fly back Indians stranded in various countries. As per Hardeep Singh Puri, Civil Aviation Minister, by the first week of June, Air India Ltd and Air India Express had brought home around 67,000 Indians on 365 flights and around 17,200 passengers had travelled from India to their respective countries of residence, on 369 outbound flights.

For the dynamic Air India Commander Pilot of Boeing 787, Rishabh Kapur, whose heroic work along with his team during the `Rahat’ operation was applauded by the then Minister of External Affairs, the late Sushma Swaraj, the present lockdown crisis gave him another opportunity to selflessly serve his country. On 12th June, he along with six co-pilots and 16 crew members (three pilots and eight crew for the outbound journey and the next set for coming back as there was no halt) – all corona warriors - flew to Lagos in Nigeria to bring home hundreds of stranded Indians there. This entire experience though was not without the challenges that the pandemic has brought upon Corona Warriors in different sectors.

In fact, he was assigned to fly Air India’s Boeing 787 on 6th May on the Mumbai-Singapore route for which he underwent the mandatory Covid test (and tested negative) but at the eleventh hour, the flight was rescheduled from Delhi-Singapore. The second time, on 12th of May, he was assigned to fly on the Mumbai-Kuala Lumpur route to bring back Indians from there, but five of the Air India pilots tested positive for Covid and though he was tested negative, utter chaos ruled and the flight was cancelled. The third time, he was chosen to fly the Mumbai-Lagos flight and has safely brought back the passengers.

Not so long ago, it was such a common sight to watch these tall and upright pilots walking through the corridors of the airports, giving everyone around a sense of confidence and pride. Smart in their crisp white uniforms and their stylish suitcases and laptops behind them, they exuded. an air of calm and reassurance. Suddenly, everything has almost frozen, with airports wearing a deserted look.

For Phase III of the Vande Bharat mission, Air India decided to fly Mumbai-Lagos which was an unfamiliar route, as Air India does not operate flights to Nigeria. Rishabh says, besides flying on uncharted territory, they flew the 9.5 hour flight to and fro without a halt, which therefore required two sets of pilots and crew. Hence six pilots and 16 crew were commissioned. However, Rishabh narrates a sequence of challenging formalities that the pilots and crew have to go through in these pandemic times. Says he, “I took a Covid test about five days before the 12th June flight. After nearly 25 hours of non-stop flight (including the time taken at the Lagos airport for passengers to board), we had to first head towards the medical centre as soon as we landed at the Mumbai Airport. After undergoing the Covid test, we were kept in a hotel for five days.’’

That was not all. Rishabh says, “As pilots, it is not possible to wear a mask, gloves or the Hazmat suits as we cannot operate control columns if we wear gloves or use radio telephony across states and continents with our masks on. We can’t sit comfortably with the Hazmat suit. So while the crew can have all these safety gear, the pilots fly unarmed and therefore vulnerable to infection. The only solace being that we are behind closed doors. We have to get into this gear only while getting out of the cockpit. However, we are in constant fear of catching infection, as we are flying with so many people on board from a country which is also gripped by Covid-19.’’

"By the first week of June, Air India Ltd and Air India Express had brought home around 67,000 Indians on 365 flights and around 17,200 passengers had travelled from India to their respective countries of residence on 369 outbound flights"

In 2015, Rishabh Kapur was a part of India’s prestigious
‘Operation Rahat’ in which Air India brought back Indians
from conflict-ridden YemenJune

So, would he say that his tryst with Vande Bharat Phase III mission was an exciting one? Says Rishabh, “Yes, such situations are always exciting, but this time my biggest concern was the safety of my family – my wife, Keerti and my 12 year old son, Rehan. I felt they were at risk because you never know if I had caught it. That was my biggest worry.’’

What does he think of his career, post-Covid? Says he, with a smile, ”There’s not a place on this planet that is not going through this unprecedented crisis. We are in it all together, wherever we may be. Whether you call this a biological warfare or the virus, it is an invisible enemy. It’s World War III inflicted upon the whole world. I’m sure we will survive the pandemic and hope for a safe planet for the future of our children.’’

This hope though, comes with a grim reality. “We will have to wait and see the fate of the aviation industry. Austerity measures are sure to come by, and perhaps that could include closure of a couple of airlines. This in effect would mean unemployment and due to supply exceeding demand, there could be salary cuts for the existing ones. As it is, our salaries have come down and may further come down with this impact.’’

In the meanwhile, Rishabh is making the most of his home time, teaching mathematics to Rehan and spending quality time with his wife, Keerti and catching up on reading. Health has also got priority, as Rishabh says, “I have enough time to focus on my health so I do a lot of workout and yoga too.’’

Indeed, the aviation industry was never ever so badly grounded and bruised. Amidst this gloom are pilots like Rishabh who accept health risks to bring to safety, stranded Indians from overseas. Kudos to such Corona Warriors!