Neerja Banot
St. Xavier's College
Published: January 15, 2026
Event Date: August 12, 1987
Indian flight attendant
Achievement Award
Event Description
Neerja Bhanot was an Indian flight attendant. On 5 September 1986, she saved a large number of passengers on board Pan Am Flight 73, which had been hijacked by four terrorists from the Abu Nidal Organization after it made a stopover at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan.
Summary
Posthumously, Bhanot became the first female recipient and, until 2003, the youngest recipient of the Ashoka Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award of India. She also received the Tamgha-e-Pakistan, the 4th highest civilian award of Pakistan, in addition to several accolades from the United States.
Award Details
Ashoka Chakra
Institution Details
St. Xavier's College
Educational Institution