Footage shows passenger Sahil Kataria run towards the co-pilot on the IndiGo flight from Delhi to Goa.

The furious passenger slapped and pushed Anup Kumar after the flight was delayed due to 13 hours due to fog yesterday as fellow passengers gasped in shock.

Kataria said to the co-pilot: ‘If you want to fly, then fly the plane. Otherwise open the door,’ before he was led away by another passenger.

In a second clip, Kataria is seen being escorted off the plane after reportedly apologising to the co-pilot.

Kumar, who was addressing passengers via the intercom system when he was attacked, has filed an official complaint against Kataria and IndiGo followed suit.

The co-pilot was part of the staff that had replaced the previous crew, since Flight Duty Time Limitations regulations kicked in and prevented the old crew from working the flight after the delay.

The regulations include adequate rest periods to mitigate fatigue-related safety concerns, NDTV reports.

Footage of the moment Kataria lurches at the co-pilot has gone viral on social media, with many condemning his actions.

‘What does the pilot or cabin crew have to do with the delay? They were just doing their job.

‘Arrest this man, and put him on the no-fly list. Publish his picture so people are aware of his bad temper in public,’ wrote one user on X, formerly known as Twitter.

‘This person should be booked for assault as well as put on a No Fly List. While IndiGo is in the news for all the wrong reasons and must be taken to task for its shortcomings, but this is totally unacceptable passenger behaviour,’ another added.

The severe delays for many flights yesterday were due to bad weather conditions, including heavy fog over northern India.

According to aviation website Flightradar24, at least 313 flights leaving Delhi were delayed and 82 flights were cancelled on Monday.

Some flights were delayed for more than eight hours, like the IndiGo flight, whose frustrated passengers faced a 13-hour delay.

Many airlines have already warned that the bad weather conditions could disrupt more flights in Delhi.

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport was not operational from 4am to 10am on Sunday (10.30pm UK time Saturday to 5.30am UK time Sunday) because of dense fog, the official said, leading to massive delays at airports across the country.

India’s federal aviation minister said the use of an additional runway was being expedited, equipped with the CAT III navigation system, which enables aircraft to land even when visibility is low.

‘Incidences of unruly behaviour amidst this are unacceptable, and will be dealt with strongly in line with the existing legal provisions,’ Jyotidaditya Scindia, the minister of civil aviation in India, said in a post on X.

The country’s weather office has predicted dense fog and a cold wave in New Delhi for Monday and ‘very dense fog’ on Tuesday, with a minimum temperature of 4 degrees Celsius.

Read the originally published story on dailymail.co.uk

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The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) consent order resolves a lengthy government investigation into the massive travel disruption and provides ‘a strong deterrent,’ the agency said.

The settlement includes a $35 million cash fine and a three-year mandate that Southwest provide $90 million in travel vouchers of $75 or more to passengers delayed at least three hours getting to final destinations because of an airline-caused issue or cancellation.

The first-of-its-kind U.S. delay compensation program, which will start by April, is part of the Biden administration’s aggressive efforts to get tough on airlines as it aims to require new passenger compensation. Vouchers will be awarded ‘upon request,’ Southwest said.

‘If airlines fail their passengers, we will use the full extent of our authority to hold them accountable,’ said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The 2022 massive winter storm and subsequent chaos prompted travel horror stories: people missing funerals or long-awaited holiday gatherings, passengers with canceled flights forced to make cross-country drives of 17 or more hours across and some cancer patients could not get treatment.

One senior executive told angry lawmakers bluntly: ‘We messed up.’

Southwest, which paid over $600 million to passengers impacted by the storm that cost it more than $1 billion, has made significant technology and consumer service upgrades and other investments including de-icing equipment across its network. The airline has seen significant operational improvements this year.

Southwest did not admit to wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to avoid litigation and said Monday it was ‘grateful to have reached a consumer-friendly settlement’ with USDOT and now ‘can shift its entire focus to the future.’

The prior largest penalty was $4.5 million imposed on Air Canada after USDOT initially sought $25.5 million. Southwest’s penalty – which includes the $35 million fine payable over three years – is more than all penalties assessed by USDOT combined since 1996. USDOT said in January it planned to start seeking higher fines.

Airlines have sparred with the Biden administration over responsibility for flight delays, landing slots and consumer issues. Buttigieg said in July of airlines: ‘We’re going to beat’em up when we think that’s important to get passengers a better deal.’

USDOT found Southwest violated consumer protection laws by failing to provide adequate customer service assistance ‘via its call center to hundreds of thousands of customers’ as well as failing to provide prompt flight status notifications to more than 1 million passengers and prompt refunds to thousands of impacted travelers.

Read full originally published story on dailymail.co.uk

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