'Don't know if I will come back': Faridabad pilot on all-women crew that rescued 169 Indians from UAE

• Deepika Adhana led a rescue flight, returning 169 Indians from UAE
• All-women crew completed mission despite regional conflict
• Deepika safely back in Delhi after brief ATC communication loss

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A 23-year-old pilot from Faridabad, Deepika Adhana, successfully led a rescue flight that brought back 169 stranded Indians from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during a tense period of conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

The young pilot, who works with Air India Express, took part in the mission despite the uncertainty and risks involved, NDTV reported.

Before leaving for the operation, Deepika shared an emotional moment with her family. She told her mother, as quoted by NDTV, “Mom, bye bye. I don’t know if I will come back or not.” Despite the anxiety surrounding the mission, she completed the flight safely and returned with all passengers to Delhi.

Deepika recalled that the rescue mission came unexpectedly. On March 6 at around 10.15 am, she received instructions to fly to Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE as part of the evacuation effort.

Originally, the flight was assigned to one of her friends. However, just two hours before departure, Deepika was asked to replace her and operate the flight instead.

The rescue mission was handled by an all-women crew. The team included Captain Jaswinder Kaur, pilot Deepika Adhana, and four women cabin crew members.

Tense moments during the flight

The aircraft reached Ras Al Khaimah airport at around 2.00 pm. According to Deepika, the airport appeared quieter than usual, but there was no visible panic among the people present there. About an hour after landing, 169 Indian passengers boarded the plane for the return journey. The flight departed for Delhi at around 3.30 pm.

However, the crew experienced a tense moment during takeoff when communication with Air Traffic Control (ATC) was briefly lost. Deepika said the communication breakdown lasted only for a short time before the network connection was restored, NDTV reported.

The flight continued without further problems and later landed safely at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.

Speaking about the moment her daughter left for the operation, her mother Babli Adhana said she clearly remembered Deepika’s words before the flight.

When she later learned that Deepika had safely returned with the passengers, she felt immense happiness and relief. “I was very happy. She has brought people from there. I am very happy,” she was quoted by NDTV as saying.

Deepika comes from the Tigaon area of Faridabad. Her father, Yogesh Adhana, works as an architect, while her mother is a homemaker. Her elder brother is employed in the banking sector in Mumbai.

She said that becoming a pilot was actually her late grandfather Amrit Singh Adhana’s dream. He always wanted to see her fly aircraft.