Kudla pilot brings back 177 Indians from Dubai

Mangaluru: Donning a personal protective equipment suit, Kudla-born Captain Michael Saldanha took off from Kerala for one of the toughest missions in his life last week. With 12 years flying experience, Saldanha was tasked with bringing home stranded Indians in the UAE to Kozhikode in a special Air India Express flight as part of the Centre’s massive repatriation exercise ‘Vande Bharat Mission’.
Despite resistance from his family members, Saldanha decided to the command the special flight. The flight from Dubai carrying 177 passengers and five infants landed at Kozhikode late Thursday night. It wasn’t an easy flight for Saldanha as passengers including pregnant women, people needing immediate treatment, senior citizens needing continuous assistance and people who had lost their jobs were flying back home amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I volunteered to airlift Indians stuck abroad. It was worth the risk and I realized it after we landed in Kerala. The entire crew was given a standing ovation for our services. Passengers and their family members personally came and thanked us. This has inspired me to fly again to rescue more Indians in the coming days,” said Saldanha.
The Valencia resident said one of the passengers has tested positive for Covid-19 and all the crew members are under the health watch now.
Asked why he chose this mission, he said: “Majority of the pilots are from Mumbai and Delhi. They have all gone home due to the lockdown restrictions. The government needed a pilot to fly from Kozhikode International Airport to Dubai and without wasting time, I agreed to command the rescue flight. After all the health tests and training, I took off for Dubai with four crew members and a co-pilot.”
Usually food is served to passengers after the flight takes off. But this time, food was kept on the seats before passengers boarded the flight. Two masks, sanitiser, snacks box with two sandwiches and a fruit cake slice and water were provided to the passengers. One toilet was reserved for the crew, he added.
After the arrival, all the crew members were tested for coronavirus. Once our results came negative, we were allowed to return home. “We have to undergo another round of tests soon. I will be declared fit to fly again after I clear these tests.”