Neerja Bhanot: The Flight Attendant Who Chose Others' Lives Over Her Own

Priya Khaitan
Jul 14
2 min read

Updated: 20 hours ago

Overview

Neerja Bhanot (1963–1986) was a 22-year-old Pan Am flight purser who spent a 17-hour hijacking alerting the cockpit crew, hiding American passengers' passports, and opening an emergency exit for passengers to escape — and was shot dead shielding three children in the terrorists' final assault.

Timeline

1963 — Born 7 September in Chandigarh
1985 — Joins Pan Am as a flight attendant after a brief, difficult marriage
5 September 1986 — Pan Am Flight 73 is hijacked by four Abu Nidal Organization gunmen at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport
During the 17-hour standoff — Alerts the cockpit crew, who escape through an overhead hatch, grounding the plane; hides American passengers' passports to protect them from being singled out
As the standoff ends — Opens an emergency exit, helping dozens of passengers escape before the hijackers open fire
5 September 1986 — Killed shielding three children from gunfire, two days before her 23rd birthday
1987 — Posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award, becoming its first female and then-youngest recipient

Early Life

Born in Chandigarh, Neerja briefly married before the relationship ended, after which she joined Pan Am as a flight attendant, eventually becoming senior purser on the aircraft that would be hijacked as Pan Am Flight 73.

Achievements

Alerted the cockpit crew during the hijacking, enabling their escape and preventing the aircraft from being flown to another location
Hid American passengers' passports to reduce the risk of them being specifically targeted by the hijackers
Opened an emergency exit under gunfire, helping dozens of passengers escape as the standoff turned violent
First woman and, until 2003, the youngest recipient of the Ashoka Chakra

Challenges

Neerja acted under sustained threat over a 17-hour hijacking, with no guarantee of rescue and no way to know how the standoff would end. She was killed in the final assault, shot while positioning herself between the gunmen and three children — a decision made in the last minutes of the ordeal.

Legacy

The hijack ultimately killed 20 people; the majority of those aboard survived, in large part due to actions taken during the standoff, including Neerja's. Pakistan also honored her posthumously with the Tamgha-e-Pakistan. Her story was dramatized in the 2016 film Neerja, and the Neerja Bhanot Award, established by her parents, continues to recognize Indian women who show exceptional courage in the face of social injustice.

She was killed shielding three children from gunfire, two days before her 23rd birthday, having spent the previous 17 hours working to get others off the plane alive.

Sources

Wikipedia: Neerja Bhanot; Britannica: Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking; Grokipedia.

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