Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; November 12, 2016)

"They don’t know I will be there with them. It’s a surprise,” Athiya Shetty says as an impish grin plays on her lips. The 24-year-old actress can’t conceal her excitement at being part of an airline major’s annual event, Flight Of Fantasy. She will join a bunch of kids from her grandmother Vipula Kadri’s NGO, Save The Children, for a 45-minute joy ride in the skies.

“Kids are fascinated by aeroplanes. I have seen them getting excited when one flies above their heads. I can’t wait to see their reaction when they soar high,” she says. Her mother, Mana Shetty, looks after the NGO now. “ I have known many of those kids since I was 13. There was just a wall between my school (American School of Bombay) and their premises. I have seen them complete school; the ones my age have graduated,” adds Athiya.

Besides the flight, the kids will also take a tour of the Mumbai International Airport. Cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar were part of the airline’s initiative in the last two years.