BAGHDAD: Iraqi Airways has suspended two of its pilots for getting into a fight — over a food tray — during an international flight with more than 150 passengers on board.
The row erupted on a flight to the capital Baghdad from the Iranian city of Mashhad, with 157 travelers on board plus crew.
“Conversation with the pilot became heated because he forbade an air hostess from bringing me a meal tray, under the pretext that I hadn’t asked him for authorization,” the co-pilot said in a letter addressed to Iraqi Airways management, seen by AFP.
After the pilot had taken his own meal, he “hit and insulted (the co-pilot), prompting the arrival of a security agent,” according to the letter.
The duo went on to land the plane safely in Baghdad, only to continue their quarrel after landing.
“The pilot again hit and insulted” his colleague, the co-pilot said, admitting that he also lashed out: “I had to defend myself.”
AFP has not seen the pilot’s account of the incident and the airline did not detail when the scuffle took place.
“The transport ministry has opened an investigation with the two pilots who argued with each other in-flight,” Iraqi Airways said late Wednesday.
Both have been suspended, the airline said, warning that the two employees “will not escape the toughest sanctions... such as a lifetime flying ban.”
Iraqis responded with horror and mockery to the incident on social media, with one person likening the duo to the country’s minibus drivers who are renowned for racing around at full throttle.
Iraqi Airways suspends pilots who fought in-flight over food
Iraqi Airways suspends pilots who fought in-flight over food
Fans bid farewell to Japan’s only pandas
TOKYO: Panda lovers in Tokyo said goodbye on Sunday to a hugely popular pair of the bears that are set to return to China, leaving Japan without the beloved animals for the first time in half a century.
Loaned out as part of China’s “panda diplomacy” program, the distinctive black-and-white animals have symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1972.
Some visitors at Ueno Zoological Gardens were left teary-eyed as they watched Japan’s only two pandas Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao munch on bamboo.
The animals are expected to leave for China on Tuesday following a souring of relations between Asia’s two largest economies.
“I feel like seeing pandas can help create a connection with China too, so in that sense I really would like pandas to come back to Japan again,” said Gen Takahashi, 39, a Tokyo resident who visited the zoo with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
“Kids love pandas as well, so if we could see them with our own eyes in Japan, I’d definitely want to go.”
The pandas’ abrupt return was announced last month after Japan’s conservative premier Sanae Takaichi hinted Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of any attack on Taiwan.
Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing, which regards the island as its own territory.
The 4,400 lucky winners of an online lottery took turns viewing the four-year-old twins at Ueno zoo while others gathered nearby, many sporting panda-themed shirts, bags and dolls to celebrate the moment.
Mayuko Sumida traveled several hours from the central Aichi region in the hope of seeing them despite not winning the lottery.
“Even though it’s so big, its movements are really funny-sometimes it even acts kind of like a person,” she said, adding that she was “totally hooked.”
“Japan’s going to be left with zero pandas. It feels kind of sad,” she said.
Their departure might not be politically motivated, but if pandas return to Japan in the future it would symbolize warming relations, said Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and expert in East Asian international relations.
“In the future...if there are intentions of improving bilateral ties on both sides, it’s possible that (the return of) pandas will be on the table,” he told AFP.
