THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Jeni Jerome, 23, was realising her childhood dream on Saturday as she was all set to fly the Air Arabia G9 449 flight. Jeni, who is settled in Ajman along with her parents, belongs to Kochuthura, a coastal hamlet located in the capital district of Thiruvananthapuram. And as she was set to fly and man the co-pilot’s seat in the flight from Sharjah to Thiruvananthapuram, appreciation and love poured in from all quarters.
“Jeni always loved flying. It was a dream she had from her younger days. In fact, her father Jerome was equally passionate about her flying. It was his dream too as much as it was Jeni’s. It will be the dream she had from childhood which she will be realising today. I was planning to call her and wish her the best before she flew,” said Sherin, Jeni’s cousin, in Thiruvananthapuram. As Jeni’s flight was set to fly at 10.25 pm on Saturday, the social media was abuzz with congratulatory messages.
Jeni’s father Jerome is employed as a fabrication manager at the British company Lamprell. The family of four has been settled in Ajman for the past 25 years. Jeni studied and grew up in Ajman, and after her 12th grade joined an aviation academy.
As the news spread over her maiden flight, social media was abuzz as politicians and celebrities started sharing her success story and wishing Jeni on her first flight. Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor was among the first to wish Jeni the best on her maiden flight.
“Congratulations to Jeni Jerome from Tvm’s Kochuthura on her maiden flight as co-pilot. When she flies today’s @airarabiagroup flight SHJ to TRV, it’s the realisation of a childhood dream of a girl from a small fishing hamlet to be a commercial pilot. A real inspiration!” Shashi Tharoor tweeted.