New Delhi’s Fog and Mumbai’s Congestion Cause Nationwide Flight Delays
Recent news from the source of Reader Wall reports a surge in delayed flights across India, primarily attributed to fog in New Delhi and substantial congestion at Mumbai airport. Public displeasure is running high, as evidenced by the incident of a passenger physically assaulting a pilot after enduring a delay of over 10 hours on a Delhi-Goa flight.
Renowned actor Richa Chadha shared her own experiences of turbulent travel this week. According to Chadha, she had to deal with severe delays on two separate IndiGo flights within the past three days, although her scheduled international flight took off without issue.
Chadha wrote, “On my 3rd flight in 3 days… day 1, IndiGo delayed by over 4 hours. Day 2, IndiGo delayed by 4 hours. But the only direct flights on some routes are often Indigo. Day 3, international flight, no problem,” on her social media platform of choice.
Possible Contributing Factors
The 37-year-old actor conceded that the fog in New Delhi and a recent air show in Mumbai might have exacerbated the airlines’ logistical woes. “On the 14th of Jan, there was an air show in Mumbai, because of which the runway was closed in the morning. And then fog/smog in North India – Delhi runway closed. Ripple effect? Flights delayed all over the country, staff overextended,” she stated.
A Detrimental Incident
Earlier in the week, an individual was taken into custody after assaulting an aircraft’s pilot while he was announcing delays. A video recording of the shocking incident which quickly went viral, shows the passenger suddenly charging from the back of the aircraft to strike Anup Kumar, the co-captain of the flight. Kumar had taken over from the previous crew due to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms after an extended delay.
This assault occurred onboard an IndiGo flight (6E-2175) departing from Delhi to Goa. The delay involved was as a result of fog and lasted for several hours on Sunday. The violent passenger has been identified as Sahil Kataria, who was subsequently arrested and later released on bail.
Reflections on the Issue
Reflecting upon the incident, Richa Chadha expressed surprise that more passengers hadn’t resorted to violence in light of the significant quantity of delayed and cancelled flights. “I am surprised only one person got physically assaulted because tempers were running very high (I don’t condone violence),” she penned in her post.
She observed that this controversy surrounding Indigo highlighted a crucial lesson regarding monopolies in any industry. “Monopoly – whether airlines, airport ownership or leadership – creates lack of accountability. Common citizens suffer, with no recourse. Until we recognise it, we will be at a disadvantage while paying through our noses,” Chadha wrote candidly.
On the film front, Chadha recently featured in ‘Fukrey 3’ and is preparing for the launch of ‘Girls Will Be Girls’, a film produced under her and her husband Ali Fazal’s production banner.
It’s noteworthy that Chadha’s grievances regarding flight delays come on the heels of a similar account from actor Radhika Apte. She described her airport nightmare involving being locked in an aerobridge with fellow passengers for hours due to flight delay, without access to water or restroom facilities.
