It was indeed a historic event for 41 tribal people who travelled in the plane for the first time in their life from Coimbatore to Chennai. These residents of villages located near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu flew in IndiGo flight to become first generation flyers.

Interestingly these 41 forest dwellers are entrepreneurs whose life changed dramatically following the unveiling of the 112-foot statue of Adiyogi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017. They became food stall owners who run their outlets near this statue at the Isha Yoga Centre.

In becoming adept entrepreneurs, these tribals were supported by Isha Outreach and the Isha monks and volunteers. Soon they became familiar and at ease in taking care of varied aspects of the food stalls, supplies and logistics.

For their maiden air travel, these fliers were accompanied by two Isha Foundation monks. At Chennai they are scheduled to visit several places for the purpose of business and leisure.

The group of first-time fliers were welcomed and felicitated by the IndiGo staff at the airport while the Captain of the flight Pradeep Balasubramanian welcomed them onboard with a special announcement in Tamil. They were treated with snacks and beverages onboard.