From Imphal to the skies: How two siblings found a shared journey as Air India cabin crew

For Wahengbam Sureiya and Rohit Singh, flying for Air India is more than a career. It is a shared journey that has taken two siblings from Imphal to the skies and brought them closer than ever.

There are some journeys that begin long before a person ever boards an aircraft.

For siblings Wahengbam Sureiya and Rohit Singh, theirs began at home in Imphal, Manipur eight years apart, growing up under the same roof, sharing childhood memories and the quiet familiarity that only siblings can understand. Today, their lives unfold thousands of feet above the ground.

Both are cabin crew with Air India. They navigate changing rosters, long-haul flights, airport standbys and the exhaustion that comes with a demanding aviation career.

And somewhere between one flight and another, they have discovered something rather special. The person who understands their work most completely is also the person who has known them for a lifetime.

A sister who inspired a dream

Sureiya was the first in her family to choose aviation. In 2014, she stepped into the profession, drawn by the possibility of travelling the world, meeting people from different backgrounds and experiencing a career where every day could bring something new.

For a young woman from Imphal, it was a path that opened up an entirely different world. She travelled to new destinations and returned home carrying stories from the skies stories about passengers, places, flights and experiences that were far removed from everyday life back home. Her younger brother Rohit listened.

He watched his sister leave for work, heard about her journeys and gradually began imagining himself in the same world. What began as admiration slowly became a dream of his own.

"She was the first one in our family to dream about a career in aviation," Rohit recalls. "Seeing her become cabin crew and travel to different parts of the world really inspired me. I loved hearing about her experiences, and eventually I decided to follow in her footsteps."

Years later, he did exactly that. The younger brother who once listened to his sister's stories from afar eventually found himself wearing the same uniform and walking through the same airports. The inspiration had come full circle.

From siblings to colleagues

Today, Sureiya and Rohit are not just brother and sister. They are colleagues. They work for the same airline, understand the same pressures and live a lifestyle that can sometimes be difficult for people outside aviation to comprehend.

Long-haul flights can mean exhaustion. Changing rosters can make planning family time difficult. Airport standby can bring uncertainty. Days away from home can make even the simplest comforts feel precious. But the siblings do not have to explain any of it to each other. They already understand.

"Working for the same airline has definitely brought us closer," Sureiya says. "We understand each other's schedules, the long flights and the tired days. It has changed our relationship from being just siblings to being colleagues. We share experiences, support each other and sometimes even learn from one another."

For Rohit, that understanding has become one of the most comforting parts of his career.

"We understand each other's work and the lifestyle that comes with it, so we have a lot more to talk about and relate to," he says. "It's nice having someone who understands what I'm going through without me having to explain everything." In a profession where fatigue, distance and irregular hours are part of everyday life, having someone who simply understands can mean more than words can express.

When standby becomes special

For most cabin crew, airport standby is simply another part of the roster. For these siblings, it can become an opportunity. When their schedules happen to place them at the same airport, they make the most of it. They talk. They catch up. They tease each other. They share stories. And, for a little while, the airport feels less like a workplace and more like home.

"One thing I really enjoy is when we happen to be on standby at the same airport," Rohit says. "We spend time together, catch up, tease each other and time just flies." It is perhaps one of the sweetest ironies of their profession.

Their work takes them away from home, yet the same job sometimes brings them unexpectedly close to one another. Even when they are operating different flights, their conversations continue. They compare routes, discuss difficult situations, share experiences and exchange advice.

The sibling bond remains but now it has another layer. They are learning from each other as aviation professionals, too.

The cab ride that became family joke

Among all their memories of working together, one particular incident continues to make them laugh. On one occasion, both siblings were assigned airport standby. Later, they were allocated the same cab home. There was only one problem.

Because they lived at the same address, the transport system had generated the same destination for both crew members. The driver thought something had gone wrong. He called the transport team to confirm the address. Everything was correct. The two passengers really were siblings.

"When we boarded the cab, he looked at us and joked, 'When did Air India start hiring family packages?'" Sureiya recalls. It was a simple moment, but perhaps that is what makes it memorable. In an industry filled with schedules, procedures and constant movement, sometimes it is the unexpected, ordinary moments that become the stories people remember for years.

Home is a phone call away

For cabin crew, being away from home is part of the profession. Home may be thousands of kilometres away. Family celebrations may happen without them. Meals may be eaten in hotel rooms or airport lounges. Familiar routines can become luxuries.

Yet for Sureiya and Rohit, home travels with them in smaller ways. Sometimes, it is just a phone call.

"A simple call asking if I've eaten, how my day was, or just talking about random things," Rohit says. "Even when I'm far away on a flight to say Bali, while she maybe operating a flight to Dubai, those small moments make me feel at home."

There is something deeply familiar in that. It is not a grand gesture, simply a sister asking whether her brother has eaten or a conversation about how the day went, a few random words exchanged across different cities.

But when you are far from home, those ordinary moments can become extraordinary.

And sometimes, home is a warm meal

For Sureiya, that feeling of home comes in another form. After a long flight, when exhaustion has settled in and all she wants is the comfort of familiar surroundings, her younger brother sometimes has something waiting for her.

A warm meal. "After a long flight, if he's off duty, he'll cook a simple warm meal for me," she says. "That instantly makes me feel at home."

Perhaps it is one of the most beautiful things about their relationship. The skies may take them around the world, but when they return, there is still someone who knows that after a tiring flight, a simple home-cooked meal can mean everything.

Sibling relationships change with time.

The elder sister who once guided her younger brother can eventually find herself looking up to him, too. Sureiya says she admires Rohit's positivity, calm nature and dependability.

Although she is the elder sibling, she sees qualities in her younger brother that she genuinely respects. For Rohit, however, his admiration for his sister goes back to where his own aviation journey began. He still sees the woman who inspired him years ago.

"As a person, I admire her for being kind, caring and always supportive," he says. "As cabin crew, I admire her confidence, professionalism and the way she carries herself." His words reveal something that goes beyond a shared workplace. For him, she is still the sister who showed him what was possible.

Two careers, one journey

Air India connects people every day. It carries passengers away from home and brings them back. It links families separated by distance, connects cities and countries, and makes journeys possible that might once have seemed impossible. For Sureiya and Rohit, however, the airline has created a different kind of connection. It has allowed two siblings to build careers side by side. Their journey began in Imphal, with an elder sister who dared to dream of the skies. Her younger brother watched, listened and eventually followed.

Today, their paths cross in airports, aircraft cabins and sometimes unexpectedly shared cabs. Their rosters may take them in different directions. One might fly to Bali while the other heads to Dubai. They may spend days apart, navigating different routes and schedules, but there is always a connection waiting for them when they return.

A phone call.

A conversation.

A shared laugh.

A warm meal.

A familiar face.

And perhaps that is the most beautiful part of their story. Aviation teaches people to cross borders, oceans and distances but for these two siblings, the greatest journey has been much closer to home.

They have discovered that home is not always a place, sometimes, it is the person who asks if you have eaten or a person waiting with a warm meal after a long flight. Sometimes, it is the sibling who understands your exhaustion without asking you to explain. And sometimes, thousands of feet above the ground, home is simply knowing that someone you love is flying somewhere under the same sky.

For Sureiya and Rohit, the world may be their workplace.

But wherever their rosters take them, they carry a little piece of Imphal and each other along for the journey.