No-fly list: Civil aviation ministry announces new rules for unruly behaviour, here is what will get you banned in flights
Forced to act after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad’s assault on an Air India staff member, the civil aviation ministry on Friday announced new guidelines for the unruly behaviour of passengers on flights, news agency ANI reported. Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey while addressing a press conference announced that the ministry has put instances of unruly behaviour into 3 categories and falling in these brackets can lead to flight bans for passengers. According to the news agency Reuters, the step has been taken as India is looking at creating a national no-fly list of unruly passengers. The list will be maintained by the country’s civil aviation regulator, Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey said.
Here is what can get you no-fly list on flights:
– Disruptive Behaviour: Level 1 will be disruptive behaviour like physical gestures etc. The punishment in this category is a suspension for 3 months.
– Physical Abuse: level 2 offences will include physical abuses like pushing, kicking, sexual harassment etc. The punishment in the 2nd category is a suspension for 6 months.
– Life Threats: Level 3 offences will include life-threatening behaviour. In this case, the passengers can be suspended for up to 2 years.Choubey said the Punishment of suspension for unruly behaviour applies to only domestic carriers but if the international carriers want to use it, they can also apply the guidelines. However, he made it very clear that the passenger can be banned from flying immediately by airline but he won’t come on the national no-fly list immediately.
A controversy sparked when Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad hit an Air India official with his slipper after being asked to disembark the plane when it landed in Delhi. After the incident, Air India and members of the Federation of Indian Airlines that includes IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Go Air proposed creating the country’s first such no-fly list.