Thirty-five-year old Ezhil Venthan Ayyasamy successfully finished software engineering and worked in a prestigious firm for a while, till he realized this wasn’t his calling. He switched careers, went through rigourous training and turned into a pilot.
Today, a first officer with SpiceJet, Mr. Ayyasamy stands tall, risking his life to transport life-saving medicines and ventilators during the COVID-19 lockdown. Like him, several pilots in the country quietly help in delivering vital medical supplies to cities across the country and even abroad.
“There is a sense of satisfaction of having achieved and contributed in some little way that I could. I may well consider this to be the high point of my career,” he says. From Bangkok to Bengaluru, he has flown extensively in these trying times to deliver tons of essential cargo from medicines to vegetables.
Anush Sachdev, a fleet supervisor line operations with IndiGo, who gave up his lucrative job after completing his MBA to enter aviation sector, says, while he was prepared to take the plunge and operate a flight, his family was reeling under fear. He had to convince them and they realised that it was crucial to pitch in, during such crisis, he says.
“An experience that will stay with me is several crew and pilots were stranded in different parts of the country after finishing their duty. I flew them back home in a flight. It was quite moving when all of us got together and everyone had a story to tell,” he adds.
Arun Prakash, a captain with SpiceJet, has hopped across the country to places like Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Kolkata and even Singapore, collecting and dropping off medical essentials from masks to equipment. “Yes, there is some fear deep inside. It may sound clichéd but as pilots, we rise above fears when there is a call of duty. There has been nothing more gratifying then to successfully transport and complete a flight with food or medical supplies, knowing that this will of help to someone in need somewhere,” he adds.
