Grief, grace, and gratitude—in a time of tragedy

Hard questions must be asked about the Air India flight crash. But wait for probe to be completed before pinning blame on the airline company

- Barkha Dutt

In this week of absolute tragedy, it is a moment for us to stand in solidarity with Air India.

I am writing this in Vienna, sitting on the tarmac of the airport, where our Air India flight from Newark to New Delhi has been diverted, along with several others because of Israel's overnight strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.

The aviation challenge—seven Air India flights have been diverted to Vienna alone—has been necessitated because the Iran airspace is closed and the Pakistan airspace has been closed since Operation Sindoor. The aircraft needs more fuel for this unforecastable geopolitical development and a new flight path to take us home. Captain Sunil Simon, crew members Suresh, Khushboo, among others are all well beyond their duty hours. But no one has shown a single sign of irritability or strain. That this has happened hours after the horrific crash of London-bound Air India 171, less than a minute after take-off, makes this stellar professionalism even more remarkable.

Imagine, operating in the traumatic overhang of losing your colleagues and friends to an air crash. Consider what the last few hours have been like for the airline staff to have to remain stoic, even smiling, in the immediate aftermath of a massive personal tragedy. And now this latest strain on their emotions and mental strength.

Yet, how many of us will take a moment to appreciate the airline.