On Monday, Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa said Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will be allowed to fly a fighter plane again only if he is found physically fit. BS Dhanoa's statement came a few days after Indian Air Force I(AF) pilot Abhinandan was captured in Pakistan after his MiG 21 Bison crashed across the Line of Control (LoC).

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However, when he was asked when Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will fly a fighter jet, BS Dhanoa said, "Whether he will fly or not will depend on his fitness." "Whether he [Wing Commander Abhinandan] flies or not depends on his medical fitness. That's why post ejection, he has undergone medical check. Whatever treatment required, will be given. Once we get his medical fitness, he will get into fighter cockpit," he said.

On being asked if Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will be placed in the same squadron, IAF chief BS Dhanoa said that it depends on his medical recovery. "If he’s immediately fit, he will go back to the same unit. We don’t change units just because of that. Ejection takes a lot of toll on your body and if you are not perfectly and god forbids you have to eject again, you will be spending the rest of your life on a wheelchair."

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