Daughter pilots air hostess mom’s farewell flight

NEWDELHI: It was her last flight as cabin crew member, special as she had served the national carrier Air India for 38 years, but what made it more memorable was that the final flight Pooja Chinchankar would service was flown by her daughter Ashrrita.

Pooja Chinchankar retired on Tuesday after a Mumbai-bangalore-mumbai flight, which her daughter piloted. Soon after the flight, Ashrrita Chinchankar tweeted: “So happy and honoured to be able to pilot the one flight that mattered. It was my mom’s dream to have me pilot her last flight as an Air Hostess with @airindiain :) As she retires after her glorious 38 years of service, I will be carrying on with her legacy #grateful #proud.”

Ten minutes before the flight was to land, the pilot in command used the passenger announcement system to announce Pooja Chinchankar’s retirement to the passengers, who cheered as she walked down the isle one last time. Ashrrita tweeted a video recorded by fellow crew members and thanked the passengers.

“Ashrrita was a mass media student, when I casually happened to ask her if she was interested in flying,” Pooja Chinchankar told HT.

“To our surprise, she was prepared to go for the course in two days. I wished to see her as a pilot, looking at how such few women take to the profession ...” the mother said

Ashrrita said she had requested the airline management to schedule her on her mother’s flight. “It feels amazing to fulfil your mother’s dream. It was a heartwarming feeling and I am thankful to everybody on board who made this possible.”

Ashrrita was a mass media student when I casually happened to ask her if she was interested in flying. To our surprise, she was prepared to go for the course in two days. I had wished to see her as a pilot