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PIA's legendary Air Hostess Momi
Gul Durrani (left) with Air Hostess Rashida photographed aboard
a PIA Boeing 720-040B after arriving at Karachi Airport from
London in August 1962. The two Air Hostesses are holding twin
babies Fahim Ahmed and Susane Ifrah. Born on March 11, 1962, the
twin babies, a girl and a boy, became the jet travellers at the
early age of 5 months by undertaking 4,500 miles journey by air
unaccompanied by their parents. They arrived in Karachi on a PIA
flight from London and took the connecting flight to Rawalpindi
twenty minutes later, adding another 700 miles to their flight
log.
Their parents had to stay back in
England to pursue their medical studies.
Nestling in their parents' laps,
the twins reported at London Airport PIA traffic counter at 12
noon to catch PIA's Boeing 720B which took off on its flight to
Karachi an hour later. The twins remained in the custody of PIA
Air Hostesses Momi Gul Durrani and Rashida throughout their
flight between London and Karachi.
Twenty minutes after landing in
Karachi the twins were transferred to the care of another pair
of Air Hostesses who looked after the twins on the second lap of
their flight to Rawalpindi.
Momi was one of
PIA's highly trained cabin crew members of 1950s and 1960s. She
was tall, fair with film-star looks and PIA had featured her in
its many advertisements. The advertisements made Momi perhaps
the most easily recognized PIA Air Hostess of her time. On May
20, 1965, Momi was on duty aboard PIA Boeing 720B jetliner which
crashed near Cairo Airport. Sadly, 114 people, including Momi,
died in this tragic accident |
