Neerja Bhanot: The Flight Attendant Who Became a Global Symbol of Courage
On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 landed in Karachi, Pakistan, for what should have been a routine stopover. Minutes later, four armed hijackers stormed the aircraft, trapping more than 380 people on board. What followed was a terrifying 17-hour ordeal—yet amid the chaos, one young woman stood out for her extraordinary courage.
That woman was Neerja Bhanot, a 22-year-old senior flight purser from India. When the gunmen entered the plane, Neerja acted immediately. She managed to signal the hijack code to the cockpit, enabling the pilots and engineers to escape through an overhead hatch—denying the terrorists the chance to fly the aircraft.
For the next several hours, Neerja became the shield for her passengers. She and her colleagues quietly hid American passports so travelers would not be singled out. She comforted crying children, calmed terrified families, and organized food and medical assistance under the hijackers’ watchful eyes. Survivors later recalled that she never thought of herself first.
When the hijackers opened fire inside the cabin, Neerja rushed to an emergency exit. She could have fled into safety, but instead she guided others out first. In her final moments, she used her body to protect three young children from the hail of bullets. Neerja was killed, but her sacrifice allowed hundreds of others to escape alive. Out of 379 people on board, 359 survived—in large part because of her actions.
Her bravery did not go unrecognized. In 1987, Neerja was posthumously awarded India’s Ashoka Chakra, the nation’s highest peacetime gallantry honor. In the United States, Pan Am’s crew received the Special Courage Award for their actions. Decades later, her story inspired the 2016 Bollywood film Neerja, ensuring that new generations would learn about her sacrifice.
Today, Neerja Bhanot is remembered worldwide as more than a victim. She is celebrated as a symbol of selfless heroism—a young woman who gave her life so that strangers could live.
