‘Zero tolerance’ for unruly flyers: DGCA proposes stricter norms

NEW DELHI: Unruly flyers beware, India has now decided to adopt a “no/zero tolerance policy” towards them with immediate effect to “ensure the safety of aircraft/persons/property and to maintain good order & discipline on board.” The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has come out with draft rules for handling such passengers in aircraft.

The big change proposed by DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai is that airlines will now have to establish procedures to “deal with unruly passengers while at airport or on-board the aircraft. The SOP will need to be communicated throughout the organisation and especially to all employees who are in direct contact with passengers, both on the ground and on the aircraft.”

“All airlines shall establish mechanism to detect and report unruly passenger behaviour at check-in, in the lounges, at the boarding gate or any other place in the terminal building or at the airside in order to prevent such passengers from boarding. Such cases shall be reported immediately with law enforcement agency at the aerodrome,” it says.

“The home ministry may provide to DGCA and to airlines, a list of individuals identified as national security threats for inclusion in the No-Fly List. Such cases will not be covered by appeal provisions as provided under (rules). Further, National Security threats list provided by Ministry of Home Affairs shall be shared with the airlines. However, this list will not be a part of published No Fly List. Separately, law enforcement agencies may take action in accordance with applicable law under their jurisdiction,” the draft says. Such people will be barred till the time the home ministry deems them to be a national security risk.

The regulator has also struck a balance between ensuring passenger rights and giving powers of reporting unruly behaviour to airlines. “Unruly behaviour could be the result of an event of unsatisfactory service/condition or effect of a series of such events that build up. Airline staff should observe early signs of potential unruly behaviour. Airlines shall focus and act on these early signs, rather than dealing exclusively with escalated events. At no stage, the airline staff/crew member shall show discourteous behaviour during redressal of genuine passenger rights,” the draft says.

The draft proposes that the no fly rules apply to “all passengers during the period of air travel to/from India”. This means as opposed to being applicable to Indian carriers and airports, the rules will apply to unruly passengers travelling foreign airlines as well on flights to and from India if those carriers report the matter.
India no fly rules categories unruly behavior into four levels with restriction on flying for upto a lifetime.

• Level 1: Unruly behaviour including physical gestures, verbal harassment and unruly inebriation
• Level 2: Physically abusive behaviour like pushing, kicking, hitting, grabbing or inappropriate touching or sexual harassment.
• Level 3: Life-threatening behaviour (damage to aircraft operating systems, physical violence such as choking, eye gouging, murderous assault.
• Level 4: Attempted or actual breach of the flight crew compartment.