Inspirational Life Of Neerja Bhanot, The Braveheart Flight Attendant Who Saved 359 Lives

The name Neerja Bhanot is synonymous with bravery and the ultimate sacrifice. Neerja was an Indian head purser with Pan American Airways, who stood bravely against the terrorists to save the lives of the passengers on a hijacked plane in 1986. The ill-fated aircraft Pan Am Flight 73 was headed to USA and was hijacked at Karachi airport in Pakistan. A recent movie made on the life of Neerja and the entire incident of hijacking with Sonam Kapoor playing Neerja’s part, beautifully depicted the heroic act of Neerja. Let us take you through a virtual journey of Neerja’s life and her act of heroism.

Early life

Neerja was born on 7the September 1963 to a Punjabi family in Chandigarh, however, she was brought up in Mumbai. Her father Harish Bhanot was a Mumbai based journalist and she completed her schooling from Bombay Scottish School and graduation from St. Xavier College, both in Mumbai.

Started her career in modelling

Neerja started her career with modelling assignments for brands like Paville, Binaca, Vaporex, Charmis cold cream, Amul chocolate, Krack-Jack and many more.

Neerja Bhanot marriage

However, her modelling career came to a halt and she was married off to a man based in Sharjah, UAE in March 1985. Unfortunately, her marriage was not a fairy tale and she became a victim of domestic abuse for dowry. To honour a modelling contract that she was obligated towards, she had to flew down to Mumbai. Her arrival was followed by a nasty letter sent by Neerja husband who asked her to come back on his terms or end the marriage. In the letter he also questioned her worth. Soon, like any self-respecting woman, she decided to end the marriage.

New lease of life

After the dispiriting marriage, she joined the Pan Am as a flight attendant in 1985. With ease, she made it to the top 80 out of the 10,000 applications for a flight attendant. She was sent to Miami for training as a flight attendant, however, she returned as a purser, which is the chief flight attendant/cabin manager.

The ill-fated day

On September 5th, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 which was flying from Mumbai to USA was hijacked by four armed men at the Karachi airport. The aircraft was carrying 380 passengers and 13 crew members. The hijackers, belonging to the Abu Nidal Organization, wanted the aircraft to fly to Cyprus to free the Palestinian prisoners in Cyprus and were targeting Americans onboard.

Within minutes of hijacking, the terrorists killed and Indian American citizen and asked Neerja to collect everyone’s passport. The sole reason being to identify and separate the Americans on the flight. With quick thinking, she and her fellow attendants hid the passports of 43 American flyers under a seat and a garbage chute. Neerja was the one to alert the pilot, captain and first officers of a possible hijack which resulted in the pilot and co-pilot evacuating the cockpit so that plane cannot be flown. However, after 17 hours, when the flight’s auxiliary power unit ran out of fuel, plunging the aircraft into darkness, hijackers opened fire. With a sharp presence of mind, Neerja opened one of the exit doors and started helping passengers in escaping. Unlike other crew members, she chose to stay on the plane to help the passengers in getting out. When she was spotted by the terrorists, they shot her point blank as she was still trying to protect 3 children by covering them.

One of the child who was 7 years old and was on the flight at that time is now a captain for a major airline and consider Neerja as his inspiration.

Youngest recipient of Ashok Chakra award

Neerja became the youngest recipient of India’s most prestigious gallantry award for bravery during peacetime, Ashok Chakra Award. She also received Tamgha-e-Pakistan from Pakistan which is an award given for showing great human kindness.

In addition to that, she also received various posthumous awards by the USA government for bravery and courage. Posthumously, she received the ‘Flight Safety Foundation Heroism Award’ in 1987 in USA. In the year 2005, she was posthumously awarded the ‘Justice for Crimes Award’ in Washington DC, USA, which was collected by her brother Aneesh. The following year, she and her fellow attendants were awarded the ‘Special Courage Award’ by the United States Department for Justice. In the year 2016, The Bharat Gaurav Award was posthumously conferred to her at the House of Commons, UK Parliament in London, England.

Honour

In the year 2004, the Indian Postal Service released a stamp commemorating her.
Bhanot House of Austrey School has been named in her honour. A book conceptualised by her brother Aneesh was published by the name of ‘The Neerja I Knew’ as a tribute to Neerja. Punjab University inaugurated the Neerja Bhanot Hostel on 30th May 2019, in the University Campus in Chandigarh. The Hostel can accommodate over 350 girls.

Neerja Bhanot movie

Ram Madhvani directed the movie Neerja starring Sonam Kapoor in the lead role.The movies released on 19 February 2016.

Neerja Bhanot last words

Listen to Neerja Bhanot’s last recorded voice while doing her last flight announcement:

The bravery of Neerja can never be forgotten by the world especially those whose lives were saved that day.

Also read: 10 Inspirational Indian Personalities Who Deserve A Biopic Of Their Own