Bhubaneswar: People across Odisha are now sending their wishes to state’s first woman flight commander, Capt. Madhusmita Patnaik, who operated a special chartered flight bringing stranded Odias from UAE to Bhubaneswar yesterday.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also congratulated Madhusmita Patnaik and her team for undertaking the mission during the times of COVID-19 pandemic.
Moved by the love and support, Madhusmita thanked the people of the State and tweeted, “It was my honour and privilege to operate a special #repatriation flight for the #strandedOdiasInUAE on behalf of #airarabia from #sharjah to #Bhubaneswar. It was a memorable flight and I was fortunate to have the support of a great team and a superb airline." (sic)
The flight with 215 stranded Odias onboard took off from Sharjah International Airport at around 8 AM (UAE time) on June 14 and landed at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar in the afternoon.
Chandra Sekhar Khuntia of the Odia Society in UAE had intervened to repatriate Odias stranded in the UAE. Later, the Odia Society in UAE with help of the Indian Embassy based in the Gulf country, India’s External Affairs Ministry and the UAE government initiated special measures for the special chartered flight.
Also Read: Odisha’s Own! Lady Pilot From State To Fly Back 215 Odias From UAE