Delhi and parts of North India witnessed poor weather on Sunday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports for hours.Among the affected were passengers of an IndiGo flight, which, according to a social media post, was delayed for 13 hours.
A clip uploaded on Instagram shows an IndiGo pilot standing in the passenger cabin, making an announcement. A passenger in a yellow hoodie is seen running up the aisle and hitting the male pilot. While the pilot backs toward the cockpit, a female flight attendant, standing next to the pilot, pushes the unruly passenger away, warning him against assaulting the crew.
The passenger can be heard saying: “Chalana hai to chala, nahi to mat chala, khol de.” (If you want to operate the flight, do so; otherwise, don’t and open the aircraft door).
In another video, the said unruly passenger is seen being escorted out of the aircraft by CISF personnel. He is deplaned from the aft section of the aircraft. A female co-passenger follows him down the disembarkation ramp. He is seen addressing a ground personnel and saying, “Sir, I’m sorry.”
A statement from IndiGo is awaited.
The incident evoked responses from passengers and aviation industry veterans.
Former airline executive, Capt. Shakti Lumba, tweeted: “Why do IndiGo pilots make announcements from the cabin? If it is a flight operations policy, it should be stopped. If it’s being done as a public relations exercise, it should be stopped.” Air safety expert, Capt. Amit Singh, tweeted: “From a security perspective, the cockpit door must be locked when the cabin door is locked. The threat from disruptive passengers increases with delays and hours of wait in closed claustrophobic spaces. Arrest the passenger for what he has done; don’t take the incident lightly.”
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Passengers took a different view. @venkat1962 tweeted: “Locking people inside for more than 30 minutes is a form of human rights torture. If the plane is delayed, open the door and let people go back into the airport.” Another user, Vibhor V, tweeted: “Both airlines and passengers are at fault here. X (formerly Twitter) is full of complaints against IndiGo where they are not communicating delays and status correctly with passengers, taking them for a ride. On the other hand, no amount of frustration gives anyone the right to physically assault someone. That’s criminal.” Vijay Jayaraman, another user, posted: “If you are unhappy with the airline, don’t fly on it. Not giving them your business is the best punishment you can give them.”
IndiGo, in a statement about flight delays released on Sunday, said that the low visibility and dense fog conditions across North India had a cascading effect on its operations throughout the day. “Our staff kept passengers apprised of all delays and cancellations across airports and made every possible effort to facilitate the passengers,” the airline added.
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Delhi is the busiest airport in India, and disruptions in the north affect flights from across the country, especially Mumbai, the second-largest airport in the country. About 18 departures from Mumbai and 15 arrival flights into Mumbai, the majority operated by IndiGo, were canceled, while hundreds of other flights were delayed on Sunday. An Air Mauritius flight from Port Louis to Delhi, MK-744, flew all the way to the capital only to divert and land in Mumbai. Among the arrival flights to Mumbai that were canceled were those from Chennai, Bengaluru, Nagpur, Delhi, Prayagraj, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Chandigarh, Srinagar, and Aurangabad. The departures that were canceled include those to Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Prayagraj, Bareilly, Nagpur, Kanpur, Visakhapatnam, etc.
On Sunday afternoon, Ravi Thota, a passenger, posted on X: “On an IndiGo flight at Lucknow and waiting to take off. Delay of 3 hours due to fog and low visibility. The pilot announced there have been issues across North India due to weather and an airspace closure at Mumbai. So planes are not allowed to land before 1 pm.” The Mumbai airport was shut for arrival and departure flight operations for an hour between 12 pm and 1 pm to allow for IAF air exercises over Marine Drive. A notice on the closure was issued to airlines, pilots, and stakeholders by air traffic control in advance. The one-hour closure of airspace under 12,000 feet was in place from January 12 to 14.
