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Air India crew surprises Shashi Tharoor with touching note on Kochi flight, earns Congress MP's 'Shabhash'

Air India crew surprises Shashi Tharoor with touching note on Kochi flight, earns Congress MP's 'Shabhash'

Mint19-07-2025
Air India crew on a Kochi flight was all smiles as they posed with Shashi Tharoor. Known for his signature flair in English, the Congress MP switched gears — dropping a Hindi word of praise, 'Shabash', to give a shoutout to the crew after they surprised him with a heartfelt note.
Tharoor took to X to give a shout out to his 'favourite' airline Air India, praising the company for its 'marvellous handling in monsoon weather,' and also appreciated the pilots for a 'smooth takeoff and landing.'
'What a joy it always is to fly Air India! The service is outstanding. And the team on my flight to Kochi today not only surprised me with this wonderful note but asked for a photo too! (Thanks, too, to the pilots for the smooth takeoff and landing, marvellous handling in monsoon weather and a ten-minutes early arrival on a wet runway… Shabash to my favourite airline!)" the Congress MP posted on X. Shashi Tharoor's post on X
He also posted a picture of the handwritten note he received from the airline's crew, along with a photo with them – taken in the flight. Air India crew's note to Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor's big shoutout for the Tata group airline comes amid US media reports on the ongoing investigations into the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that killed 241 people on board.
On Thursday, July 17, the Wall Street Journal revealed the final exchange between the two pilots – captain Sumeet Sabharwal and first officer Clive Kunder – pointing to possible pilot error as a key factor in the deadly crash.
The report also cited some persons familiar with the American probe.
Following the report, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) initiated a legal action through a formal notice to The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, and also sought an official apology.
Earlier, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had rubbished the Wall Street Journal report on the Blackbox recording of dialogue between the Air India flight 171's two pilot before the crash, terming it as 'selective and unverified' reporting.
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