The passengers that were to board Flight PK7002 from Yemen’s Hodeida International Airport to Karachi, Pakistan weren’t even sure whether the plane would arrive to pick them up. Some of them had spent the past 72 hours travelling from different parts of Yemen to get there. They were tired, hungry and, most importantly, afraid that the plane would never arrive.

The agreement that the Saudi government had with the Pakistani government was that they would halt airstrikes for four hours to give the national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, a small window in which to conduct the first evacuation flight to Yemen to rescue the Pakistani citizens stranded there. According to reports, there were around 3,000 Pakistani citizens stranded in different parts of Yemen.

For the 500 waiting on the tarmac, this window could mean the difference between life and death. Just the day before, an airstrike had damaged a building at the airport and was a constant reminder of what would happen if they didn’t get on that plane in the next few hours.

Getting stranded Pakistanis out of Yemen was a race against time, but one that the PIA crew had run before

For Captain Muhammad Mohsin Malik and his cockpit crew, co-pilot Captain Syed Muhammad Qasim and flight engineer Syed Fazal, this would be the second evacuation flight they would be doing together. The first was in Tripoli, Libya when the war broke out. “You could see the smoke and hear the gunfire a few kilometres from the airport,” he recalled. Since the airport was situated within a military base, there was a lot of security where the plane landed. Plus, they weren’t the only airline to operate in Libya at the time: other countries had sent planes to evacuate their citizens as well. Along with them on this flight and on the one to Yemen was senior purser Taranum Seher who is a bit of an evacuation flight expert: other than these two, she was also on board the evacuation flights PIA had sent to Iraq and Kuwait.

But Yemen was different. The area surrounding the airport was eerily deserted when the plane landed, there was minimal ground staff, “It was almost as if they were waiting for us to leave so they could close everything,” he said. As far as he could see, the area was not secure. The Pakistani ambassador to Yemen, Dr Irfan Yousuf Shami had helped all of the Pakistanis present there go through the immigration and was waiting with them to board the plane.

Cockpit crew on Yemen flight

“I can’t forget the look on their faces when the doors were opened for them to come on board,” said Senior Purser Sadia Habib, “They looked so relieved. Once they were inside, they felt like they were in Pakistan,” said co-pilot SM Qasim. The cabin crew which mostly comprised senior pursers and stewardesses volunteered to go on this flight and were met with hugs and kisses of joy from the passengers. On others, the stress had taken its toll: they were hypertensive and needed some support. “We told them they were okay,” Sadia added, “We were there and now they were safe.”

An evacuation flight doesn’t happen in isolation. It requires a lot of diplomatic effort on the part of the government to get permissions from the countries the plane will be flying over, an agreement from the Saudi government and the Yemeni government for a conflict-free window in which to conduct the operation and coordination between.

Dealing with the enormous amount of luggage that the passengers brought with them was a hassle. “These are people who’ve travelled to make money and built their life in a new country and it’s difficult for them to leave everything they’ve worked hard for,” said the captain. According to the cabin crew, the captain personally stepped down to help with managing the luggage and loading it. The passengers included three pregnant women. “Technically, you can’t fly with women who are so advanced in their pregnancy,” said Sadia, “But obviously we couldn’t leave them behind. We kept them in front so they could easily get assistance if they needed it.”

But humans weren’t the only passengers on board. “There was a woman who refused to leave her cat behind saying, ‘Qatar (airlines) would’ve taken her!’” she laughed, “We said ‘Qatar isn’t here to rescue you, PIA is!’” The cat got its place in the baggage hold nonetheless and made it alive and safe to Pakistan. The cabin crew did everything they could to make the passengers comfortable and give them a sense of normalcy. Having waited and travelled for over 72 hours, needless to say the passengers, including many children, were very hungry. “We wanted them to forget everything that they had left behind,” said Sadia, “This was going to be a new beginning for them.”

Happy reunion

It took 45 minutes after all of the passengers were on board and the plane had been secured for them to get clearance to fly again. “I wanted to get out of that place before sunset,” said the captain, who suggested that had it gotten very late, clearance or not, he would’ve flown the plane. Timing was everything and time was running out.

They took the same route they had taken when flying in — over the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aden. The lane in which they had made their landing and departure, lane number three, now no longer exists. According to Taranum Seher, it was wiped out in an airstrike well after they left. “They were waiting for us to leave,” she said.

An evacuation flight doesn’t happen in isolation. It requires a lot of diplomatic effort on the part of the government to get permissions from the countries the plane will be flying over, an agreement from the Saudi government and the Yemeni government for a conflict-free window in which to conduct the operation and coordination between.

An emotional welcome

The PIA has a well-equipped emergency response centre that coordinates both with the plane and with families of the passengers with a 1,200-strong strength of volunteers that arrive at a moment’s notice, a media centre to send information out and most importantly, a situation room where the whole operation is planned. “It’s the nerve centre of the entire operation,” said Captain Amir Aftab while showing how extensive it was. The situation room is where the flight plan is charted, communication channels are finalised and the level of security vs. risk being taken is determined. A flight cannot take off without their go-ahead and once airborne, they are in constant communication with the plane.

What was it like leaving Al- Hodeida? “I can tell you one thing: the lights of Karachi have never looked this good!” laughed the captain, “At the end of the day: it’s always good to be home.”

The celebration started well before they got out of the plane. “The moment the plane hit the tarmac at Jinnah International airport, the passengers started cheering and applauding,” said Sadia. But what really touched the crew’s hearts was the fact that when they opened the gates to leave the plane, all of their colleagues, from the chairman and the MD of the airline, to flight cadets, to members of the Airport Security Force and customs were present to welcome them. “They all saluted us!” said Sadia excitedly. “I think for the first time customs didn’t check my baggage,” laughed co-pilot SM Qasim.

Pakistani Airports Security Force (ASF) personnels stand guard as relatives of the evacuated families from Yemen wait in Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on March 30, 2015.—AFP

So they took a flight to a country where PIA normally doesn’t operate, landed in a war zone, rescued Pakistani citizens and made it back home safe. “We did all of this and our grooming was perfect!” joked Sadia, “Not a hair was out of place.” Surely they must’ve taken some time off after surviving this ordeal. “Nope,” she laughed, “We were back at work at 8am the next day.”

“Do you think we would do such flights if PIA had been privatised?” questioned Taranum Seher. “Probably not,” I responded.

Would they do it again? “Oh absolutely!” was the response from the crew, “When is the next flight?”

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, April 5th, 2015

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