IndiGo pilot assault case: Co-flyer shares first-hand account, says ’violence is unacceptable, but what about...’

A passenger on an IndiGo flight recently assaulted co-captain Anup Kumar who was making an announcement regarding a delay in takeoff at the Delhi airport. A video was shared on microblogging site X, where a man in yellow hoodie abruptly ran up from the last row and hit the new pilot.

Now, a co-passenger has shared his first-hand account on the incident in a tweet on X. He wrote, “A series of news articles have covered the recent assault on an Indigo Flight 6E2175 pilot on Jan 14. As a co-passenger, I feel compelled to share my first-hand account of the incident.”

He further clarified that its he does not support violence, however, he added that he intend to share my experience and shed light on the events not support violence.

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He said, “Flight 6E2175 was scheduled for takeoff at 7:40 AM but faced multiple delays, eventually departing at 05:35 PM Boarding commenced around 12:20 PM (after a delay of 5 hours due to bad weather) with approximately 186 passengers, including infants, young children, and elderly individuals.”

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“Despite completing boarding by 12:40 PM(Approx), the flight doors remained open till 2:50PM, with ground staff attributing the delay due to ATC not clearing the flight because of the congestion. However, at 1:30 PM, the pilot announced they are waiting for a crew member the flight will depart shortly. It became evident that ground staff and crew provided misinformation. Crew members were observed being unprofessional, engaging in lengthy conversations with the ground staff(eastablished through the plane recordings),” he said.

Further elaborating, he said, “Multiple Requests from elderly passengers for water were ignored. As they were busy in there own conversations. The delayed crew member arrived at 2:40 PM (Approx), and the plane doors closed. However, the plane did nat push back for sometime, leading to passenger inquiries and a verbal altercation with crew members”

“Around 3:20 PM, the assistant captain came out for addressing the passengers on the delay when the assault occurred.”

“Violence is unacceptable, but what about Indigo's mismanagement, unprofessionalism, and 185 passengers stranded without food for hours?” he questioned.

He added, “The food was provided to us after 4:00PM after being locked in the plane for several hours. The incident raises questions about the handling of the situation by Indigo. Shouldn't authorities investigate the unprofessional conduct and ensure such mismanagement doesn't recur?”

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday said unruly passenger behaviour is unacceptable. In a statement, IndiGo declared the passenger as 'unruly' and is contemplating placing him on the no-fly list for up to 30 days. The airline emphasised its commitment to passenger and crew safety, maintaining a zero-tolerance policy for such behaviour.