VIDEO: Passenger slaps IndiGo pilot after 13-hour delay in India

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VIDEO: Passenger slaps IndiGo pilot after 13-hour delay in India | Secret Flying

IndiGo pilot assaulted by flier over 13-hour fog delay.

 

A passenger on board an IndiGo flight physically assaulted the co-captain while he was addressing the passengers about delays at India’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

 

The incident occurred on IndiGo flight 2175 from Delhi to Goa, which faced several hours of delay on Sunday due to fog. The passenger involved has been identified as Sahil Kataria and was subsequently arrested, later being released on bail.

 

The video shows Kataria in a yellow hoodie rushing from the rear of the aircraft and striking Anup Kumar, the flight’s co-captain.

 

Kumar had taken over from the previous crew due to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) regulations, which aim to ensure the well-being of pilots and flight attendants by enforcing sufficient rest periods to mitigate fatigue-related safety concerns.

 

Following the assault, Kataria was promptly removed from the plane and handed over to the authorities.

 

Social media users expressed their outrage, with one commenter on platform X stating, “Arrest this man and put him on the no-fly list. Publish his picture so people are aware of his bad temper in public. What does the pilot or cabin crew have to do with the delay? They were just doing their job.”

 

Another user emphasized the need for consequences, saying, “This person should be booked for assault as well as put on a No Fly List. While @IndiGo6E is in the news for all the wrong reasons and must be taken to task for its shortcomings, this is totally unacceptable passenger behavior.”

 

The incident occurred amidst significant disruptions at Delhi airport, with 110 flights experiencing delays and 79 cancellations on the same day, as reported by the flight tracker website flightradar24. Average delays reached 50 minutes, compounding the frustration of passengers already dealing with extensive flight disruptions.

 

The preceding day saw severe delays for several flights at Delhi airport, lasting seven or eight hours, primarily due to adverse weather conditions, including dense fog, in northern India. Major airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Vistara cautioned that ongoing unfavourable weather conditions in Delhi and Kolkata could further impact flight schedules.