The Indian Government made the announcement that the unruly and ill-mannered passengers can now be banned from flying from a period ranging from 3 months to life time by the airline operators. This rule introduced by the government is the part of revised Civil Aviation Rules (CAR).
The rules will be applicable to anyone on an aircraft (passengers, VVIPs or even the airline crew). CAR has come up with the decision directing airlines to create a ‘No Fly’ list that will contribute to minimize increasing incidents of misbehavior by passengers on flights.
The revised rules segregate unruly behavior into three categories namely verbal, physical and life threatening. The ministry said that the duration of ban for flying will vary according to the categories. The list of unruly passengers identified by airline operators would be shared with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and be published on the aviation regulator’s website.
But, no airline would be bound by the no-fly list of another operator however, they may opt to ban those declared unruly by other carriers. As been reported, the no-fly list would be optional to foreign airlines.
On June 15, Telugu Desam Party MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy created ruckus at the khapatnam airport after he was denied a boarding pass for an IndiGo flight as he had showed up late. The lawmaker from Anantapur was said to have damaged a printer and misbehaved with IndiGo airline staff.
In March, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was accused of assaulting an Air India staffer, following which several airlines banned him from flying on their planes till he apologized.
Keeping such incidents into consideration, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement: “Such unruly behavior will be probed through an internal committee set up by the airline under the chairmanship of a retired District and Sessions Judge as Chairman and members from different scheduled airlines and passenger/consumer associations and retired officers of Consumer Dispute Redressal Forums.”
The ‘No Fly’ list of unruly passengers will be dispensed by the airline concerned and will be made available on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) website.
