IAF transport fleet & loads of memories

Military courier flights serve as an air bridge between the operational areas and the communication centres or administrative bases located in the hinterland for transportation of personnel and stores. The reduction in travel time also affords an opportunity to troops to avail shorter stints of leave without jeopardising operational readiness levels.

Courier flights mostly comprise the transport fleet of the Indian Air Force; however, commercial flights are also commonly used.

My first experience of couriers was as a Second Lieutenant deployed in Sri Lanka, as a part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). With only six days of leave sanctioned to attend a wedding, my ability to do so was shrouded in doubt considering the distance to be traversed. My hopes were pinned on allotment of vacancies on courier flights to Chennai and onwards to New Delhi.

The allotment process appeared to be quite a mystery for someone at the bottom of the pecking order. The grapevine, without a shred of evidence, was about out-of-proportion cornering of vacancies by the headquarter staff vis a vis the forward troops.

An unscheduled courier had arrived at Trincomalee, and an early morning ringing of the telephone in the tent that I shared with my Company Commander announced the allotment of that elusive vacancy. I had just enough time to throw in a couple of clothes into a rucksack.

I slowly absorbed the commercial flight courier — the comfortable seats, array of switches overhead and, of course, the elegantly dressed air-hostesses in the midst of a sea of combat uniforms. Despite the short duration of the flight, breakfast was served. Seeing my untouched food, my co-passenger indicated the overhead button. I sheepishly requested for toothpaste and the air-hostess was kind enough to hand me one from her vanity bag. Thanking her profusely, I freshened up and savoured the breakfast, a memorable one indeed.

The Chennai to New Delhi courier flight was a service aircraft and I was told that my name did not feature in the manifest list cleared for boarding. Buying an air ticket at such short notice would have burnt a huge hole in my pocket. My more experienced coursemates advised me to wait it out as the Air Force pilots rarely left anyone stranded, especially young officers. Lady luck smiled and I was permitted to board in the last batch (compassionate cases).

The colossal size of the newly-acquired IL-76 was awe-inspiring and the arrangements much at variance from the morning flight, starting from the boarding ramp instead of steps, the rugged steel benches for seating, luggage and empty ration cartons piled up in the aisle and, of course, the absence of refreshments and air-hostesses.

Another time, while proceeding on an officers’ course to India from Sri Lanka, the course detailment was received at the last moment and there were no courier vacancies. The parachute regiment coursemates, who enjoyed an excellent rapport with transport aircraft pilots by virtue of the jumps they undertook, came to our rescue. This was an AN-32 aircraft, much smaller than an IL-76, and the airfield was Palaly, a major logistic base for IPKF in Jaffna.

Of a batch of three, two officers managed to get manifested and we requested that the third be tucked in behind empty ration cartons in the aisle, surreptitiously. The naivety of this exercise dawned on us much later.

In another case, an officer deployed in the forward areas was to proceed on posting and had kept his pet dog with him. With the area snowbound, the only way out was via couriers and pets were of course not permitted. So, a special breathable box was created, the dog was sedated and the box was passed off as stores, though its loading was monitored by the officer himself.

I can’t recall a single incident of not being accommodated on requesting for a courier seat, however late the request may have been put in.

The IAF transport fleet renders yeoman’ s service round the year, catering to operational challenges. In addition, they facilitate quicker travel, which needs more appreciation.

Nowadays, I often get to hear the roaring engines of the IAF transport fleet overhead, reminding me of the courier days. Safe flying to you, air warriors, always and every time.