{"id":20102,"date":"2026-09-04T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T06:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=20102"},"modified":"2026-09-04T06:00:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T06:00:51","slug":"abhinandan-varthaman-why-group-captain-abhinandan-varthaman-chose-goa-airline-after-retiring-from-iaf-goa-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=20102","title":{"rendered":"Abhinandan Varthaman: Why Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman chose Goa airline after retiring from IAF | Goa News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-articlebody=\"1\"><video-embed value=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"ihgno clearfix  \">\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133751414,imgsize-44637,width-400,height-225,resizemode-75\/roster-56.jpg\" alt=\"Why Group Captain  Abhinandan Varthaman  chose Goa airline after retiring from IAF\" title=\"Abhinandan Varthaman (File Photo)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Abhinandan Varthaman (File Photo)\">Abhinandan Varthaman (File Photo)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>PANAJI: He shot down a Pakistani F-16 in a dogfight over the LoC, ejected in enemy territory and was held captive for around 60 hours, during which he famously refused to talk about his mission with a polite dignity that disarmed even his captors: \u201cI am sorry, am not supposed to tell you this.<!-- -->\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/>Now, the man who returned home to a hero\u2019s welcome in 2019 and attained cult status for his handlebar moustache has done the quietest thing a war pilot could do: taken premature retirement, moved to laidback Goa and signed up with regional airline FLY91 to ferry holidaymakers on a turboprop.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"5\"\/>Group Captain <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/abhinandan-varthaman\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Abhinandan Varthaman<\/a> (retd) is currently training abroad on ATR 72-600, a twin turboprop, which FLY91 sources say he may operate on the Goa-Hyderabad sector. <!-- -->\u201cHe joined some weeks ago,\u201d a source said. \u201cA lot of these veterans choose Goa because the place is comfortable&#8230;.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/>FLY91\u2019s fleet draws heavily from the forces. \u201cWe have pilots who have flown all kinds of aircraft, from Su-30s to MiG-21 and Mirage,\u201d said founder-CEO Manoj Chacko. \u201cWe look forward to welcoming a lot more as they come in for their second career. Super proud to have every single defence officer who flies for us.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>For Abhinandan, a Vir Chakra recipient, the transition to a turboprop pilot marks a big shift from his Feb 2019 heroics in the wake of Pakistani retaliation for India\u2019s airstrike on a Jaish camp in Balakot. His citation mentions how Varthaman \u201cpicked up an enemy aircraft that was flying low\u201d for an ambush and \u201cpursued a retreating enemy fighter bomber aircraft\u201d. After he shot down an F-16, a missile hit his MiG-21 Bison, forcing him to eject over enemy territory.<!-- --> Abhinandan was returned to India on March 1, 2019.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>Abhinandan\u2019s new employer began flying operations in March 2024 and operates a fleet of six ATR 72-600 aircraft. It has two bases: Goa and Hyderabad. It signed an order Thursday for 40 ATR 72-600 aircraft worth $1 billion, which officials said was the largest ATR order globally for any regional airline.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/city\/goa\/why-group-captain-abhinandan-varthaman-chose-goa-after-retiring-from-iaf\/articleshow\/133751343.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Abhinandan Varthaman (File Photo) PANAJI: He shot down a Pakistani F-16 in a dogfight over the LoC, ejected in enemy territory and was held captive for around 60 hours, during which he famously refused to talk about his mission with a polite dignity that disarmed even his captors: \u201cI am sorry, am not supposed to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/roster-56.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Abhinandan Varthaman (File Photo) PANAJI: He shot down a Pakistani F-16 in a dogfight over the LoC, ejected in enemy territory and was held captive for around 60 hours, during which he famously refused to talk about his mission with a polite dignity that disarmed even his captors: \u201cI am sorry, am not supposed to [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 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