Get the latest news alerts from The Hindu x

You can manage the notifications any time from your

browser settings.
NO THANKS ALLOW

NATIONAL

Airlines may ban unruly passengers for up to two years

Somesh Jha
NEW DELHI: MAY 05, 2017 13:07 IST
UPDATED: MAY 05, 2017 20:43 IST

Centre proposes guidelines empowering domestic airlines to impose three levels of ban on unruly passengers

The Union government on Thursday proposed guidelines empowering domestic airlines to impose a ban on unruly passengers
in the range of three months to two years.

Airlines can impose three levels of ban on such passengers three months for disruptive behaviour such as physical gestures,
six months for physically abusive behaviour such as pushing, kicking and sexual harassment and two years for life threatening
behaviour, including damage to aircraft systems,Get
according to news
the latest draft alerts
Civil Aviation
from TheRequirements
Hindu x (CAR) on Handling of unruly
or disruptive passengers. You can manage the notifications any time from your
browser settings.
For every subsequent offence, an unruly passenger may be banned for twice the period of the previous ban. The draft rules will
NO THANKS ALLOW
be open for public comments for a month after which a final regulation will be released incorporating the stakeholders'
comments.

Database of unruly passengers

Additionally, the Ministry of Home Affairs can put individuals who are identified as national security threat on the proposed
National No-Fly List.
Minister of State Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said in a press conference here on Friday that India would become the first
country to frame a National No-Fly List related to aviation security as other countries have No-Fly List for safety-related
issues at present.
The airlines will maintain a database of such passengers that will form a National No-Fly List of unruly or disruptive
passengers. Individuals defined by the Ministry of Home Affairs as national security threats will also form part of the National
No-Fly List, said a press statement issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry.
Such names will be forwarded to the individuals by the airlines indicating the reasons for inclusion of their names in the list,
the official statement said.

ALSO READ
The Civil Aviation Ministry has also proposed a two-tier complaint handling mechanism. The initial
inquiry, at the level of the airline that has imposed the ban, will be conducted by an internal committee
headed by a retired District and Sessions Judge. The committees order can be further appealed by the
passenger at the government level, which will take a final call through a committee headed by a retired
Defusing
air rage: Judge of a High Court.
Airlines
should The passenger will not face a blanket ban; however, the Centre has proposed empowering other airlines
take a
tough line to also impose a similar ban on passenger. The airlines can ban a passenger immediately for unruly
behaviour. However, the process of appeal has to be completed within 10 days of the ban, Civil Aviation
Secretary RN Choubey said, adding that other airlines could also use the No-Fly List to ban the passenger by one airline.
Passengers who become a part of the National No-Fly List after being identified as a threat by security agencies will not be
able to appeal the decision under this civil aviation regulation, Mr. Choubey said.

The need for a National No-Fly List emerged after government identified certain loopholes in current regulations through
which Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was recently banned by all domestic airlines for his alleged manhandling of an Air
India staffer in March. The airlines withdrew the two weeks ban following a directive from the government.

-15%

Rs.23 Rs.70 Rs.49 Rs.33 Rs.40 Rs.54

Printable version | May 5, 2017 10:19:09 PM | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centre-proposes-guidelines-

empowering-domestic-airlines-to-impose-ban-on-unruly-passengers/article18389421.ece

The Hindu