00:00Breaking news coming in. Former Indian Air Force Group Captain and Veer Chakra awardee Abhinandan Vartuman has joined the Goa
00:07-based regional airline Fly 91 as a pilot, according to sources.
00:13Vartuman, who downed an enemy jet during an aerial combat with Pakistan back in the year 2019 and was held
00:19captive for three days in that very country, was honoured with a Veer Chakra award.
00:25Now, the sources have come out to say that Vartuman joined the airline as a pilot in the month of
00:30August itself.
00:30When contacted, a Fly 91 spokesperson said personal information about employees is a private matter and did not comment on
00:38the same.
00:39Further details, however, could not immediately be ascertained, but the fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force was decorated with
00:45a Veer Chakra.
00:45Remember, the India's third highest wartime gallantry medal for displaying an exceptional sense of duty during the dogfight as per
00:53the award citation.
00:53Now, Fly 91, which started flying in March 2024, currently operates a fleet of six ATR-72600 aircraft.
01:03The airline's two bases are in Goa and Hyderabad as of now.
01:08And this is the biggest news that we are bringing to you right at the top of the bulletin.
01:12Shivani Sharma joining me on the broadcast with more details on this.
01:16Shivani, a very good morning to you.
01:18You know, as far as we are speaking of the former Indian Air Force group, Captain and Veer Chakra awardee,
01:24Abhinandan Bartaman,
01:25we all remember that entire operation that he was involved in and then in fact got captured on the other
01:34side and then he was brought back.
01:36And now with this detail coming to the forefront, how are we looking at it?
01:43He was definitely the hero of the Balakot strikes where his MiG-21 shot down the Pakistani-American part 5
01:53-16.
01:55And you also have seen that he was there in Pakistan and how India negotiated and how he was brought
02:02back to India.
02:03And since then, he has been the most talked about, most clicked and the hero of the most recent operation,
02:11the Balakot strikes that happened in 2019.
02:14Now he has decided, in fact, he has now taken premature retirement from the Indian Air Force and joined a
02:21private airline as a commercial pilot.
02:23And we also must remember the MiG-21s have been phased out in September last year and it is his
02:31personal decision to take premature retirement and then join a commercial airlines where he is now serving as a pilot.
02:39And he was also awarded the Veer Chakra, the gallant award for the Balakot strikes that happened.
02:48So certainly a big decision by Group Captain Abhinand, then Kumar Abhinand and Bartaman.
02:58And now he is a part of a private airline.
03:01So yeah.
03:03Right.
03:03Shivani, I'd request you to stay back with us.
03:05Let me just take our viewers through who exactly.
03:09We all know him, viewers.
03:11But just to rejig your memory, the hero of Balakot, who was he?
03:17The Balakot strikes that we're referring to here, Abhinand and Bartaman.
03:20He displayed exceptional air combat acumen.
03:24And yes, as my colleague also pointed out, he was the hero of the Balakot strikes.
03:28He shot down a Pakistan F-16 post the Balakot strikes.
03:32Displayed exceptional sense of duty during the dogfight.
03:36And then, even post that, when he was held captive in Pakistan, he displayed exceptional result.
03:42The kind that we've in fact spoken of and seen perhaps in movies.
03:47Was conferred later with the Veer Chakra award.
03:51So this is who he was, that is, former IAF captain, Abhinandan Bartaman, who's now, as we are given to
04:03understand, taken an early retirement.
04:05And also, as per the details that's coming in, he's joined Fly 91.
04:10It's an airline that operates from Goa.
04:13Currently, he is, in fact, said to have been based in terms of operation from Goa.
04:20But there's also another airbase at Hyderabad of this very airline as well.
