Air India has been on the block, its sell-off process cheered along by votaries of economic liberalization for so long now that it came to be seen as an acid test of the government’s resolve to privatize public sector enterprises. In recent days, the state-owned carrier has been in the news for entirely different reasons. Even as it played a heroic role in national interest, airlifting Indian citizens stranded in countries stricken by Covid-19, members of its cabin crew found themselves shunned by housing societies in India that see them as carriers of not just the country’s flag, but potentially also of the dreaded coronavirus. This attitude of residents is a shame. Nobody deserves such callous treatment, least of all Air India employees who are trained to follow health protocols and have worked selflessly to do what their duty has called upon them to, and that too, under especially trying circumstances. Our national airline has done us proud. In a cloud of gloom, it has emerged as India’s global ambassador, winning admiration even in distant lands for its dedication to the task of flying home those who only have their own country to turn to.
