Chartered flight brings back 215 Odias stranded in UAE, pilot greets fliers in Odia language

An Air Arabia flight carrying 215 stranded migrants landed here in Odisha from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday afternoon. Captain Madhusmita Patnaik, a female pilot from Odisha, announced in Odia language inside the flight before it took off from Sharjah.

Bhubaneswar: A total of 215 Odisha people, who were stranded in UAE, on Sunday arrived at Bhubaneswar airport by a chartered flight from Sharjah.

According to reports, the chartered flight under Vande Bharat Mission landed at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here at 2.07 PM and took off for Sharjah at 3.08 PM.

Overseas stranded migrants from Odisha who were eagerly waiting to make their way back to the home state on a special flight in the UAE amid COVID-19 pandemic, were overwhelmed when they heard a voice of a woman pilot welcoming them in Odia language on the auspicious occasion of Raja festival.

Captain Madhusmita Patnaik, a female pilot from Odisha, announced in Odia language inside the flight before it took off from Sharjah.

She extended her greeting to all the passengers on “Raja Festival” and ended her announcement with “Jai Jagannath".

Reportedly, the air passengers equipped with face shields and face masks as part of protection against the spread of novel coronavirus will surely miss their trip after the flight departed for Bhubaneswar from Sharjah.