Meet the 24-year-old woman pilot who evacuated over 800 students from Ukraine

Mahasweta Chakraborty received a late night call last month that gave her an experience of a lifetime. The 24-year-old IndiGo pilot swiftly packed her bags and reported for duty; she had been chosen by the airline to rescue stranded Indians from war-torn Ukraine border points under the government’s ‘Operation Ganga’.

The Kolkata native flew six evacuation flights — four from Poland and two from Hungary — between February 27 and March 7, Times of India reported.

Chakraborty has been with IndiGo for the last four years and she was nothing short of proud to have been part of the operation. She flew 800 Indian students back to safety from Ukraine, a country that has been marred by violence, death and destruction since Russia invaded the country two weeks ago.

“It was the experience of a lifetime, rescuing those students in their late teens and early twenties, many of whom had fallen sick and had traumatizing tales of survival,” Chakraborty told Times of India. “I salute their fighting spirit and am extremely proud of having played my part in their journey back home.”