Woman pilot, crew of Air India flight that evacuated students from Italy earn praise on social media

Captain Swati Raval and her crew air-lifted over 200 Indians stranded in Italy.

A large number of Indians were stranded in Italy even the Covid-19 spread rapidly through the nation. Over 200 of them were air-lifted from Milan and Rome to bring them back home Sunday, and the woman pilot of the special Air India flight is being praised online.

The special flight carrying 263 Indians landed in Delhi airport on Sunday morning and was flown by Captain Swati Raval and co-pilot Captain Raja Chauhan. the The crew of the flight were praised on Twitter by India’s civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

The crew of @airindiain Boeing 777 led by Capt Swati Raval & Capt Raja Chauhan responded to the call of duty & displayed exemplary determination by airlifting 263 Indians, mostly students, stranded in Rome. pic.twitter.com/JfqC7kwmGG

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) March 22, 2020

Raval, who has a five-year-old child, and the crew were hailed by many, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other celebrities.

Extremely proud of this team of @airindiain, which has shown utmost courage and risen to the call of humanity. Their outstanding efforts are admired by several people across India. #IndiaFightsCorona https://t.co/I7Czxep7bj

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 23, 2020

well done crew .. so proud of you .. Jai Hind🇮🇳🙏 https://t.co/v9XJb0srFb

— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) March 22, 2020

Proud of our airline! @airindiain Salutes & Pranaams to the entire crew 🙏 🇮🇳 https://t.co/feh7JGCrBp

— salim merchant (@salim_merchant) March 23, 2020

Proud of the commitment & determination shown by Capt. Swati Raval. She is flying to Rome to rescue 265 Indians, mostly students & is a mother of a 5 year old. She & the entire crew of @airindiain Boeing 777 have set an example of great solidarity in this challenging period. pic.twitter.com/rEpYMxIz5Z

— Anil Agarwal (@AnilAgarwal_Ved) March 23, 2020

Salute Capt. Swati Raval, Capt. Raja Chauhan and the crew of @airindiain, for keeping the call of duty above all else. Airlifting 263 Indians stranded in Rome, the team deserves every bit of admiration and appreciation for their humanitarian efforts. #IndiaFightsCorona https://t.co/cZGC22cc2z

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) March 23, 2020

The commitment and compassion of Capt Swati Raval & Capt Raja Chauhan and the entire crew of @airindiain Boeing 777 is unmatched!

The families of the ones they flew and the entire nation owes them a great debt.

— Gautam Chintamani (@GChintamani) March 22, 2020

on of the best example of woman empowerment💪, best of luck and salute to your courage👍👍

— Anurag Singh Jojo (@anurag_ksng) March 23, 2020

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/2lFcbEzQ1m

— Rajesh Patel (@RajeshP80307304) March 23, 2020

The post went viral after Air India reported that its crew members are being harassed in many parts of the country by residents welfare associations due to foreign journeys in the line of duty.

The evacuees from Italy — mostly students — were taken to an Indo-Tibetan Border Police-managed quarantine facility in Chhawla after undergoing thermal screening and immigration at the airport. This is the second batch of Indians to have been evacuated from Italy, which has reported more than 47,000 cases of the Covid-19 virus.

In India, the number of coronavirus cases have now crossed 400. All domestic commercial flights will be suspended from March 24 midnight to restrict inter-state movement.

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