New Delhi: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the Indian Air Force fighter pilot who became a national figure following the 2019 India-Pakistan aerial confrontation, has taken premature retirement from the IAF and reportedly begun a new career as a commercial pilot with Goa-based regional airline FLY91.
Varthaman, who served in the Indian Air Force for around 22 years and rose to the rank of Group Captain, is understood to have joined FLY91 in August. The airline operates regional services using ATR 72-600 aircraft and has bases in Goa and Hyderabad.
Neither Varthaman nor the airline has publicly commented on his reported appointment. FLY91 has maintained that information concerning individual employees is private.
Varthaman shot to international prominence during the military confrontation between India and Pakistan in February 2019. The crisis followed India’s Balakot air strikes against a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror training facility in Pakistan, carried out days after a suicide attack in Pulwama killed 40 CRPF personnel.
On February 27, Pakistani aircraft crossed into Indian airspace in retaliation, leading to an aerial engagement between the two sides. Varthaman, then a Wing Commander, was flying a MiG-21 Bison during the encounter.
During the dogfight, Varthaman engaged and brought down a Pakistani F-16 before his own aircraft was hit. He ejected from the damaged MiG-21 and landed in territory controlled by Pakistan, where he was captured and held for three days.
His release on March 1, 2019, became a major moment during the tense standoff between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Varthaman had sustained injuries during the ejection but returned to India after being handed over at the Wagah border.
Later that year, he was awarded the Vir Chakra, India’s third-highest wartime gallantry award. The citation recognised his courage and exceptional sense of duty during the aerial engagement.
After more than two decades in uniform, Varthaman’s move into commercial aviation marks a significant new phase in the career of one of India’s most recognisable military pilots.
