Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday that unruly passenger behaviour is unacceptable and ‘will be dealt with strongly’ in line with existing legal provisions. Scindia said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will issue an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) to ensure ‘better communication and facilitation of passengers to minimise discomfort in view of flight cancellations and delays due to adverse weather.’
Besides, Delhi airport operator DIAL has been directed to expedite the operationalisation of the CAT III-enabled fourth runway. “It is my earnest request to all travellers to bear with us during this difficult period. All stakeholders are trying their best to minimise passenger inconvenience. Incidents of unruly behaviour amidst this are unacceptable and will be dealt with strongly in line with the existing legal provisions,” Scindia said.
Meanwhile, the DGCA on Tuesday asked airlines to publish accurate real-time information regarding flight delays and appropriately sensitise staff at airports to suitably communicate with passengers amid fog-related disruptions at airports.
The DGCA has invoked the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section-3, Series M Part IV, titled “Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights.” Against the backdrop of a significant number of flights getting delayed and cancelled and passengers facing tough times, the DGCA has come out with a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The DGCA said there should also be appropriate sensitisation of the airline staff at the airports to suitably communicate with and continuously guide and inform the passengers about flight delays, according to a release.
“In view of the prevalent fog season and adverse weather conditions, airlines may cancel, sufficiently in advance, such flights that are anticipated to be delayed or consequentially delayed on account of such conditions beyond a period of 3 hours with a view to obviate congestion at the airport and mitigate passenger inconvenience,” DGCA said. The SOPs have been issued in view of the “fog-induced disruptions and adverse weather conditions at various airports, including Delhi airport, causing delays, cancellations and inconvenience to passengers”, an official release said.
Delhi airport has four runways — RW 09/27, RW 11R/29L, RW 10/28, and RW 11L/29R. One of them is not operational now. The airport is the country’s largest airport and handles around 1,300 flights daily.
As the cold wave worsened on Monday, the mercury plunged four degrees below normal to 3.3 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season’s average, the lowest this season so far, in Delhi, even as dense fog enveloping the Capital reduced visibility to zero at Palam for around two hours and disrupted air traffic as more than 150 flights were delayed.
Four flights were diverted to Jaipur, and one flight to Ahmedabad between 1 am and 5 am. There are also reports of several trains being either delayed or canceled due to low visibility or late running.
Delhi airport has four runways — RW 09/27, RW 11R/29L, RW 10/28, and RW 11L/29R. One of them is not operational now. The airport is the country’s largest airport and handles around 1,300 flights daily. Data from 5 am to 9 am shows that the CAT-III Runway RWY 11R/29L handled 30 landings and 1 takeoff during the 4-hour period, whereas the non-CAT III Runway RWY 9/27 couldn’t handle any flight movement, and RWY 11L/29R handled 2 Take-offs during the period,’ the civil aviation ministry said in a post on X on Monday. Apart from reduced visibility, the situation got worse because Delhi Airport currently has only one CAT III-equipped runway for operations in low visibility. Runway 28/10 has been closed for scheduled re-carpeting since mid-September.
In Lodhi Road, the minimum temperature dropped to 3.1 degrees Celsius. A foggy and cold morning gave way to a sunny day in the national Capital on Monday, bringing slight relief to Delhiites who woke up to the season’s coldest morning with a minimum temperature of 3.3 degrees Celsius. However, owing to bright sunshine in the afternoon, the mercury reached a high of 19.7 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year, the India Meteorological Department said.
Earlier, in a disturbing incident, a passenger on an IndiGo flight was arrested after he assaulted a pilot when he was making an announcement regarding a delay in takeoff at the IGI airport. The incident came to light after a video went viral on social media showing the passenger running up to the captain of the IndiGo flight and slapping him. The captain was making an announcement regarding delays when the man punched him. The incident happened on a day dense fog majorly impacted operations at the Delhi airport leading to 500 flights being diverted, canceled, or delayed, leaving thousands of passengers waiting for hours. The passenger was deboarded after the incident and handed over to central security forces. A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged in the matter based on the complaint by the captain of the Delhi-Goa IndiGo flight. The flight took off from Delhi at 6 pm after a delay of more than 10 hours, according to the flight tracking website flightradar24.
In the video, the air hostesses tried to keep the passenger away; he can be heard telling the pilot: ‘Nahi chalana toh mat chala, bol de (If you don’t want to fly the plane, then don’t).’ To this, one of the flight attendants said, “Sir aap aisa nahi kar sakte (sir, you cannot do this).” As other passengers were shocked and agitated, a man in a blue hoodie can be seen trying to calm the man down at the end of the video. The video was originally shared on an Instagram story by a user Evgenia Belskaia on Sunday night. According to the police, the co-pilot of flight number 6E 2175, between Delhi and Goa, and other security personnel gave a complaint regarding one passenger assaulting and misbehaving with them in the flight. The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) DCP, also assured to take appropriate legal action against the accused. A case under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), and 290 (punishment for creating public nuisance) of the IPC and section 22 of the Aircraft Rules has been registered against the passenger, and investigations are on, another police officer said.
In its statement, IndiGo said the passenger was declared unruly and handed over to the local law enforcement agencies for further action as per protocol. IndiGo said Kataria ‘assaulted’ the co-pilot and that the matter had been referred to an independent internal committee for the inclusion of the passenger on the ‘no-fly list.’
Last year, Delhi police registered a case against a man for allegedly creating a ruckus and abusing the flight crew on an Air India flight from New York to Delhi in October 2023.”