Captain SavieMaria Ondego shared a heartfelt moment about the special flight RAO001, which brought the body of former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga back from India to Kenya. The Kenya Airways Boeing 737-800 landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at 9:33 a.m. The aircraft was greeted with a historic water salute, the first time such a tribute was given to a Kenyan leader. Water jets shot up from fire trucks as the plane came to a stop, showing the country’s deep respect.
“I’m SavieMaria Ondego, knee chariot, and I’m a captain on the 737-800,” Captain Ondego started, speaking calmly about the journey.
The flight, originally labeled KQ203, changed its call sign to RAO001 in honor of the late leader.
“It was a surreal moment,” she said in a Kenya Airways X video that captured the importance of the mission.
“Every day isn’t a normal day in our job, and just like any flight, we woke up to fly our usual route.
But there was a deep sense of responsibility and weight, because of the importance of the mission to our country. That made it anything but a normal flight.”
By People Daily