- By Vivek Raj
- Tue, 16 Jan 2024 09:40 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
A Russian model and actor, Evgenia Belskaia, along with her team, experienced a chaotic incident on the Delhi-Goa flight when a passenger assaulted the co-pilot, Anup Kumar, following a 13-hour delay. The unruly passenger, identified as Sahil Kataria, was arrested after the assault, which occurred during the co-pilot’s announcement of the flight delay at Delhi airport.
In a video posted online, Belskaia said that hitting the pilot was wrong but also highlighted the passengers' collective frustration due to the very long delay. The IndiGo flight 6E 2175 eventually took off from Delhi at 6 pm, more than 10 hours behind schedule.
In the viral video, Sahil Kataria can be seen assaulting the co-pilot as he announces the delay. Belskaia mentioned that her team waited for 10 hours, and after the incident, an additional 3-hour delay ensued. The situation led to the arrest of Kataria, and the airline had to replace the pilot.
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Sharing the video clip on Instagram, Evgenia Belskaia wrote, “My team was waiting 10 hours for their flight then one guy got fed up and after this, they had to wait 3 more hours! Police took the guy and they had to change the pilot also! Crazy really!”
View this post on Instagram
Belskaia criticised the captain for escalating the tension by blaming passengers for the delay. She shared that the pilot accused passengers of asking too many questions, contributing to the missed turn and further delays.
“The pilot came and said you are asking too many questions and we missed our turn because of this… The pilot blamed the passengers for the delay,” she added.
The Russian model said she was flying her team to Goa from Delhi and had reached the airport early to board the flight, which was scheduled to take off at 7:40 am. "The IndiGo team was saying that the flight had been delayed by an hour. It went on for at least 10 hours until we were allowed to board the plane."
After boarding the flight, the passengers were told that the flight had been delayed by two hours. "The passengers were angry and started asking questions from the crew and the pilot," she said.
While condemning the act she criticised the Indigo team and said, "Everyone was nervous, and instead of supporting them you made it worse," she added.
The incident occurred on a day when dense fog disrupted operations at Delhi Airport, causing numerous flight diversions, cancellations, and delays. Reacting to the incident, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia strongly condemned unruly passenger behavior and said that such actions are unacceptable and will be dealt with by existing legal provisions.
