Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, the Vir Chakra recipient who shot down a Pakistani F-16 over the Line of Control in 2019, has left the Indian Air Force and joined Goa-based regional airline Fly91, officials said.
Cover photo: File photo of Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman (right), via The Tribune
Officials told the Hindustan Times that Varthaman left the IAF on 31 March and later joined Fly91. PTI, cited by The Week and Business Today, said he joined the carrier as a pilot in August. A Fly91 spokesperson declined to comment, saying personal information about employees is private.
The Tribune reported that he took premature retirement after nearly 22 years and was promoted to Group Captain in December 2021. Sources told the paper that flying hours often fall as administrative work rises at senior rank, and that a move to commercial aviation is a common path for IAF pilots.
Then a wing commander, Varthaman was scrambled from Air Force Station Srinagar on 27 February 2019 after a large Pakistan Air Force package was detected heading towards the LoC, a day after Indian strikes on Balakot that followed the Pulwama attack. His Vir Chakra citation, published in the Gazette of India in December 2019, said he engaged the package despite “immense numerical and technological superiority” and shot down an F-16. His MiG-21 Bison was then hit by a beyond-visual-range missile. He ejected in Pakistan-controlled territory and was returned on 1 March after almost 60 hours in captivity.
Fly91 began operations in March 2024. It flies six ATR 72-600 aircraft from bases in Goa and Hyderabad and serves 14 domestic destinations, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Pune.
Reporting: Hindustan Times, The Tribune, The Week / PTI, India TV.
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