Neerja Bhanot

Neerja Bhanot was a senior flight purser for Pan Am who was killed while saving the passengers from heavily armed terrorists on board the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 at Karachi Airport. When the armed terrorists barged into the plane, Neerja showed her great presence of mind in alerting the cockpit crew. Neerja took it upon herself to protect the lives of the passengers while senior-most crew member remaining on board.



Neerja was born to Rama Bhanot and Harish Bhanot in Chandigarh on 7 September 1963. She completed her high school from Bombay Scottish School and graduated from St. Xavier’s College. She was a very active young girl, caring and cheerful. She got married after her graduation but unfortunately her marriage life was a tragedy. After her separation from her husband, she focused on her career and made it successful.

She applied for a flight attendant’s job with Pan Am, there were nearly 10,000 applications, but Neerja proved to be the best and got selected among top 80. She was then sent to Miami for training as a flight attendance. She soon made a senior flight purser with the airways in a very early age. On 5 September 1986, Neerja was on duty in the Pan Am Flight 73. When the hijackers opened fire after 17 hours, she helped the passengers escape. She was shot when she was helping three children from the terrorist.

Respecting her bravery and in order to honor her Government of India awarded her the Chakra Award (India’s Highest Award for Bravery). One of the children who was saved during a hijacking incident by Neerja is now a captain for a major airline.

Bravo Neerja...! We Miss You...!

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