"If We Don't Wake Up...": Actor Narrates Her Flight Delay Ordeal

Fog in New Delhi and congestion at Mumbai airport are among the several factors contributing the flight delays across India. The simmering anger among passengers has already resulted in a flier slapping a captain after the Delhi-Goa flight did not take off for over 10 hours. Actor Richa Chadha today shared that she too has been affected by the delayed flights this week.

She said that two of her IndiGo flights were delayed by 4 hours in the past three days. She said that a third flight, an international one, took off as scheduled.

"On my 3rd flight in 3 days… day 1, IndiGo delayed by over 4 hours. Day 2, IndiGo delayed by 4 hours. But the only direct flights on some routes are often Indigo. Day 3, international flight, no problem," the actor posted on X (formerly Twitter).

The 37-year-old said that there is a possibility that the fog in New Delhi and the recent air show in Mumbai may have added to the airlines' woes.

"On the 14th of Jan, there was an air show in Mumbai, because of which the runway was closed in the morning. And then fog/smog in North India - Delhi runway closed. Ripple effect? Flights delayed all over the country, staff overextended," she said.

Earlier this week, a flier was arrested for assaulting the aircraft's pilot while he was announcing delays. A video of the incident, which went viral, shows the passenger abruptly run up from the last row and hit Anup Kumar, the flight's co-captain. Mr Kumar had replaced the previous crew due to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms after several hours of delay.

The incident took place on the IndiGo flight (6E-2175) from Delhi to Goa which was delayed due to fog by several hours on Sunday. The passenger has been identified as Sahil Kataria. He was arrested and later released on bail.

Talking about the incident, Richa Chadha said that she was surprised that more fliers hadn't lost their cool considering the high number of flights being delayed and cancelled.

"I am surprised only one person got physically assaulted because tempers were running very high (I don't condone violence)," she wrote.

The actor said that the Indigo controversy has taught an important lesson. "Monopoly - whether airlines, airport ownership or leadership - creates lack of accountability. Common citizens suffer, with no recourse. Till we don't recognise it, we will be at a disadvantage while paying through our noses. And if we don't wake up, we deserve it haina," she wrote.

Richa Chadha was last seen in the movie 'Fukrey 3'. She and husband Ali Fazal are all set to come up with 'Girls Will Be Girls', a film made under their production banner.

Her's post on flight delays follows another celebrity's airport nightmare on Saturday. Actor Radhika Apte shared her ordeal at an airport when she and other co-passengers were locked inside the aerobridge after the flight was delayed. The 'Sacred Games' actor did not name the city or the airline, but shared photos and videos on Instagram and said the passengers did not have access to water or the loo.