Capt Savita Singh: The Woman Pilot Revolutionizing Indian Election Campaigns | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: Helicopters landing on makeshift helipads have become the defining image of election campaigning in rural constituencies, but for the assembly polls this time, it also marks India as a country of contrasts. Flying the politicians—who have put the underprivileged woman at the centre of their election campaigns with various financial assistance schemes—is a woman pilot.
Capt Savita Singh is probably the only woman helicopter pilot in India engaged in election campaign flying and this time, she has been landing in places like Shegaon, Parli, Dharni and Khamgaon, flying politicians to deliver speeches centred on govt’s Ladki Bahin scheme.
“Yes, there is a definite element of surprise, even shock, when the crowds see a woman pilot step out of the cockpit,” said Capt Singh (51), a former IAF helicopter pilot who flies as pilot-in-command on Agusta 109P. She has been in the civil aviation sector for 17 years now, first with Pawan Hans and thereafter with charter company operators.

While she has flown extensively across the country transporting civilians, the jobs also involved flying on campaign trails, where helicopters typically provide last-mile connectivity to the bigwigs of Indian politics. The first time around, when they see a woman helicopter pilot, most VVIP passengers respond with surprise or plain bemusement, she said.
“We were readying for takeoff when, from the backseat, someone tapped my co-pilot on the shoulder and passed him a chit. He read it and laughingly dismissed it, refusing to divulge its contents. It was only after we landed at the destination that he revealed that our passenger, a senior cabinet minister, asked whether it was safe to fly with a woman pilot. I would have told the minister, ‘if you are doubtful about flight safety, you may disembark’,” said Capt Singh, who has about 7,000 hours of flying experience.
Unlike flying for the IAF, flying offshore to oil rigs or providing island connectivity in Andaman and Nicobar, landing at the makeshift helipad in a rural constituency for campaigning is a different ballgame. Being on the election campaign trail as a woman pilot could also mean having no access to a lavatory for 9-10 hours. Helicopter pilots who fly VVIPs also carry their own water, snacks and packed breakfast, which passes off as lunch. They generally don’t consume food given or bought at the stopovers due to security concerns.
“Campaign flying happens between sunrise and sunset, with about five to six landings a day. But a large portion of the time is spent between flights, sitting in a parked car with the air-conditioning on, waiting for hours for the VVIPs,” said Capt Singh. Then again, if the last landing of the day is on a temporary helipad, the pilot has to ensure that the neta is on board on time to land before sunset, an operational norm for makeshift helipads. Then there are hazards, like landing in Maoist strongholds, where there have been reports of firing on helicopters.
There are also the crowds to manage. Picture this: a swarm of supporters, party workers and onlookers from nearby villages mob around the helipad, their mobile phones trained on the helicopter carrying out an approach to land. The loud whirring of the helicopter blades, its powerful downdraught, the precarious touchdown onto the ground—it’s the very drama that draws crowds. To top it off, a woman pilot emerges from the cockpit.
“Campaigns in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh draw the largest crowds, over 200-300 people milling around a helipad waiting for it to land. Once it lands and the doors open and we disembark, the crowd starts cheering and hooting, and many run towards the helicopter, trying to touch it, and take selfies and videos with us, which we politely decline. It’s madness of a different kind,” said Capt Singh. Police and other security personnel have a tough job at hand. “My IAF background helped me immensely in handling these situations. But the first few campaigns I did about 16 years ago were trying. The crowd doesn’t expect to see a woman pilot emerge from the cockpit,” she said. Even to this day, it’s not a common sight, like seeing women in airline cockpits.