BENGALURU: Women in the airline industry have overcome geographical barriers to reach leadership positions in important airports across Karnataka. They have proven that there are no limits to their career growth.
IndiGo Airport Manager at Belagavi, Risona Maria, has come a long way from Sulthanbathery village in Kerala’s Wayanad district. Daughter of an autorickshaw driver and a homemaker, she used to preserve newspaper clippings of training courses about the airline industry.
“Seeing my keen interest, my parents took a huge loan to help me pursue my passion. After completing my 12th standard, I joined the Frankfinn Institute in Bengaluru. In September 2012 I joined Indigo as a Customer Service Executive when I was just 21. There has been no looking back since then,” she said.
The airline operates four flights daily out of Belagavi to Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi. “The first flight is at 8.35 am and the last one is at 7.45 pm. After I ensure they all leave smoothly, my work day ends,” says this mother of 4-year-old Ronel.
Lauding IndiGo for its completely pro-woman approach, Risona said, “The airline goes all out to help out its female employees. During my pregnancy, my bosses went all out to help me with an admin role to ensure that I do not give up my career. With my husband C Levi working in Belagavi, they have now given me a wonderful opportunity to continue my career with this posting here,” she added.
Roopa Sreeram, Airport Manager, at Bengaluru’s Akasa Air has seen it all in her aviation career. She now lives with her husband Sreeram Shanbag and daughters Nivedita (26) and Soujanya (21) at C V Raman Nagar. Her drive from home commences at 4 am to be on time for her duty at the airport two hours later.
Her commitment to her professional life did take a huge toll on her personal life, she confesses.
“I was abroad when my mother passed away and had to rush back. I was working at Coimbatore airport (for Indigo then) when my father passed away during Covid. I was not able to be with them during their final moments. I missed out watching my daughters grow up when I was working for Jet Airways in Amsterdam and New York. But I guess one needs to make some sacrifices to achieve something,” she said.
Roopa was there at Brussels airport employed in Jet Airways on March 22, 2016, when it faced a terrorist attack.
“As many as 600 of our passengers had to be taken to Amsterdam and then sent to their respective countries which was a huge learning experience,” she shared.
For Deblina Ramachandran, Station Manager, Air India Express, Bengaluru, an entry to the aviation industry just happened. This B.A. Honours graduate from Kolkata got a break as Customer Service Executive at British Airways due to her people-friendly behaviour and served there for 5 years. She later moved to Air Asia (as it was known then) and gradually rose up the ranks. She was instrumental in setting up the stations for the airline at Malaysia, Thailand and India.
“Just believe in yourself and the world will start believing you,” she goads women.
Aircraft maintenance technician
The job of Neelima Beck, Aircraft Maintenance Technician, Air India Express at Bengaluru, is quite a different one and largely male dominated. This native of Surajpur village in Chattisgarh has blazed a daring path and is an inspiration back home to countless men and women.
Taking care of all aspects of a flight with a small team before it takes off on its next trip is her core job. “I take care of 3 or 4 aircraft per day. The moment an aircraft arrives, myself and team take a walkaround it to do an overall check. During the day, we only have 25 minutes to do so. It is when the aircraft park at night that we are able to do a thorough check. We take two to three hours for an aircraft. The level of the engine oil needs to be checked, the lamps on the flight, damage to the frame of the aircraft due to bird hits or other incidents, checking of wheels to look out for patch and the pressure are part of her daily job,” she said. It goes without saying that being alert 24x7 is part of her job as passenger lives rest on her hands.
Her father N. Beck is a Sub Inspector and mother Phulmani Beck is a headmistress. “My school computer master in school Vikas Kumar guided us to pursue IT and Aeronautics. I did a 2.5-year course at Aircraft Maintenance Engineering College in Bhopal and an internship at Air India in Mumbai before entering the industry.”
Her tip to other women: If you want to do something, then just go ahead and do it. Things will fall in place.
