IndiGo on Friday commenced direct flights between Mumbai and Athens with its new A321 XLR aircraft, becoming the first airline to provide direct connectivity between India and Greece.

In a release, the airline said it will connect Athens and Delhi using the same aircraft from January 24.

“IndiGo becomes the first Indian carrier to directly connect the two countries as it will fly thrice weekly on each route and plans to increase connectivity to more points in Greece in due course,” it said.

The aircraft has 12 IndiGoStretch and 183 economy seats.

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Chaos erupted on an easyJet flight from Turkey to London Gatwick after a reportedly intoxicated passenger caused a disturbance, prompting an emergency landing in Athens. According to Metro, the topless man had been arguing with fellow travellers, leading the captain to issue a stern warning over the intercom. The captain was heard saying: “This is the captain speaking. To the people fighting, the police are waiting for you at the gate. You’re only making things worse for yourself. Please sit down.”

Despite cabin crew and passengers’ efforts to calm the situation, the disruptive man refused to comply. Passengers grew increasingly frustrated, shouting insults at the delay. A woman exclaimed, “You’ve messed us all up, you silly fool!”

It is unclear what started the fight, but the original TikTok post was captioned: “POV your flight back from Turkey gets diverted to Athens because boys can’t handle their drink.”

Later, staff attempted to dress the man and guide him off the plane, but he continued to provoke others, including a passenger in a white jacket who sarcastically applauded the captain’s announcement. As tensions escalated, the captain’s warning proved ineffective, and the man was eventually escorted off the flight by authorities.

A spokesperson for EasyJet stated, ”Flight EZY8558 from Antalya to London Gatwick on 1 October diverted to Athens and was met by police after landing due to two passengers behaving disruptively onboard. easyJet’s cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the flight’s and other passengers’ safety is not compromised at any time. Whilst such incidents are rare, we take them very seriously and do not tolerate disruptive behaviour onboard. The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always EasyJet’s highest priority.”

The footage has elicited strong reactions from internet users, who called for severe consequences, including billing the disruptive passengers thousands of dollars for the diversion and imposing lifetime bans on flying. Others suggested prohibiting alcohol on flights, citing the excessive drinking culture among some travellers.

One user wrote, ”It’s only a matter of time before they ban drinking because of people like these who can’t handle their drink. Jail them and they may think twice.” Another commented, ”Why do Brits revolve their life around drink, drink, drink? This is what ends up happening. I’m not generalizing, but this is why alcohol is not the way.”

Strong winds carrying dust from the Sahara Desert turned the sky apocalyptic “orange” over Athens and other Greek cities on Tuesday. Social media was awash with orange images of the Greek capital as locals and tourists alike were stunned by the phenomenon. One user posted a video of their windshield covered in sand, while another branded the scene as “apocalyptic” as they posted footage of their surroundings on X (formerly Twitter). 

It’s apocalyptic in Athens right now. Mind you, no filter used. pic.twitter.com/YMTWKnVA6P

— Elly Vintiadis (@EllyVintiadis) April 23, 2024

According to SkyNews, the orange sky over Greece deteriorated the air quality and spiked temperatures, in what officials said was one of the worst such incidents since 2018. On Tuesday, the daily high in parts of the southern island of Crete topped 30 degrees Celsius, more than 20 degrees higher than what was registered in much of northern Greece.

The strong southerly winds also fanned unseasonal early wildfires in the country’s south. The fire service said that a total of 25 wildfires broke out across the country in the past 24 hours. Separately, cops reportedly said that three people were arrested on the Aegean Sea resort island of Paros on suspicion of accidentally starting a scrub blaze on Monday. 

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The yellow-orange haze limited visibility and prompted warnings from the authorities of breathing risks, The Guardian reported. “It’s one of the most serious episodes of dust and sand concentrations from the Sahara since March 21-22, 2018, when the clouds invaded the island of Crete in particular,” said Kostas Lagouvardos, weather research director at the Athens Observatory.

Authorities warned that the dust concentrations can reduce sunlight and increase concentrations of fine pollution particles, posing risks for people with underlying health problems. The Greek weather service said the skies would begin to clear on Wednesday.

An X user posted a video saying, “What’s going on – I never saw this – It’s completely Orange – the Sun should be there.”

Athens, Greece 23/04/2024

“What’s going on – I never saw this – It’s completely Orange – the Sun should be there” pic.twitter.com/kQWT26OOOX

— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) April 23, 2024

“Yea I witnessed the weirdest sky over Athens yesterday,” said another.

Yea I witnessed the weirdest sky over Athens yesterday pic.twitter.com/m8zvkACwA0

— Electric KC (@EKC_DAO) April 24, 2024

As the week progresses, the Eastern Mediterranean will experience a return of fresher and cleaner air, along with temperatures that will be closer to normal for this time of year, authorities said.