Passenger attacks Indigo pilot

A 12-hour delay, a late start to a honeymoon, and, likely, a rush of blood to the head - these were the ingredients of an unprecedented, and unforgivable attack by a passenger on a co-pilot announcing a delay.

- Neha LM Tripathi and Hemani Bhandari

NEW DELHI:

Sahil Kataria, 28, the passenger in question was arrested late on Monday afternoon but managed to secure bail. Thus far, he has not been placed on any no-fly list, although some experts believe he should be permanently barred from flying.

The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon - a day that saw thick fog and smog push visibility at the airport to zero from 5am to 10am, delaying over 400 flights. The Katarias were on an IndiGo flight originally scheduled to take off at 7.40am. Around 3pm, co-pilot Anup Kumar was making the announcement when he was assaulted by Kataria.

The flight subsequently took off at 6.30pm.