2 pilots fired after cockpit fight

NEW DELHI - An Indian airline says it has fired two pilots who reportedly fought in the cockpit, with the man allegedly slapping the woman during the New Year’s Day flight from London to Mumbai.

Jet Airways says in a statement that it “has terminated services of both the cockpit crew with immediate effect.

The company has released no further details. Indian media have reported the male pilot slapped his female co-pilot during an argument in the cockpit, and that she emerged crying and for a time refused to return to the cockpit. The flight, which was carrying 324 passengers and 14 crew members, landed safely. Meanwhile, global demand for air travel climbed 8 percent in November, the fastest rate in five months, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said yesterday.

IATA said that upward revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) trend has bolstered toward the end of 2017, pointing to a good start to the new year.

“We expect another year of above-trend passenger growth in 2018 as a whole, albeit at a slightly slower pace than seen in 2017”, Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General, said.

“In sum, we begin the New Year with confidence,” he said.

Capacity measured in available seat kilometers rose 6.3 percent, and load factor rose 1.2 percentage points to 80.2 percent, IATA said in its monthly traffic update.