Crew members of Indonesian Air Force’s Super Puma helicopter prepare for a search operation for the victims and the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501 at Pangkalan Bun Airport, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015. AP
MANILA, Philippines -“She loved this, her dream. She loved traveling. To become flight attendant she could travel for free.”
That was how Haidar Fauzi, the father of AirAsia flight attendant Khairunisa “Nisa” Haidar Fauzi remembered the childhood ambition of his daughter, one of the 162 people onboard the ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501 which crashed last December 28 as it traveled to Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia.
In an interview with CNN, the Fauzis recalled how Nisa opted to leave their family home in Sumatra, Indonesia to fulfill her dream.
Nisa, whom her mother Rohanna described as “obedient”, had worked for AirAsia for the last two years.
“She’s an obedient daughter. She is always tidy. She loves to learn. Lots of her friends love her,” Haidar says. “Same as her dad,” Nisa’s mother said.
On her Instagram account, a smiling Nisa chronicled her adventures on and off work, offering her followers a glimpse of her life as an adventurer and a flight attendant.
She is also expressive of her love to her boyfriend Divo, saying that distance will never weaken their love for each other.
In an Instagram post 11 days before the plane crashed, Nisa told Divo that she loves him “from 38,000 feet.”
Nisa’s remains were identified by search teams through her name tag that read “Khairunisa” still pinned on her red AirAsia uniform. She also wore a silver analog watch on her left arm.
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes accompanied Nisa’s family to bring her remains to Palembang, Indonesia.
“I’m arriving in Surabaya to take Nisa home to Palembang. I cannot describe how I feel. There are no words,” Fernandes posted on his official Twitter account.
Nisa was 22 when she died, leaving her parents and two older brothers.
According to the latest update issued by AirAsia on Saturday, at least 30 bodies have been recovered from the doomed plane, with six bodies identified.
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