Time: 10 min Date: 17-01-2023

NO FLY LIST

Air India ‘Pee-Gate’

News

· The topic of ‘No-Fly list’ was in news after a man in a drunken state urinated on an
elderly woman onboard a Delhi-bound Air India flight.

About

· In 2017, the Ministry of Civil Aviation created a national ‘No-Fly list’ to ensure the safety
of the passengers and to curb the behaviour of unruly passengers in the aircraft.

· It was created in accordance with the provisions of the 1963 Tokyo Convention
(officially known as the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed
on Board Aircraft).

· The no-fly list is compiled and maintained by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation
(DGCA).

Need of a No-Fly List

· Although unruly passengers represent only a miniscule proportion of passengers as a

whole, even one unruly passenger can jeopardise safety on board.

· Unruly passengers affect all personnel involved in the process connected with a flight
operation, ultimately affecting the operation of the flight itself.

Incidents of Unruly Behaviour

· These rules were developed after an incident involving former Shiv Sena MP Ravindra
Gaikwad assaulting an Air India staffer on a flight came into light in 2017. Gaikwad was
banned by several carriers for two weeks. Later that year, the no-fly list and the CAR
came into effect.

· Few years ago, Stand-up comic Kunal Kamra was put on No-fly list for heckling
journalist Arnab Goswami onboard an IndiGo plane.

Offences
 · Offences are categorised into three levels punishable by lengthier bans.

· Level 1: Unruly behaviour (physical gestures, verbal harassment, unruly inebriation etc.)
is punishable with ban of up to 3 months.

· Level 2: Physically abusive behaviour (pushing, kicking, hitting, grabbing or

inappropriate touching or sexual harassment etc.) is punishable with ban of up to 6
months.

· Level 3: Life-threatening behaviour (damage to aircraft operating systems, physical

violence such as choking, eye-gouging, murderous assault attempted or actual breach of
the flight crew compartment etc.) is punishable with a mandatory minimum ban of at
least 2 years.

Procedure

· The procedure to place a passenger on the list must be initiated by the pilot in
command of the flight who makes a report to the airline.

· The airline must form an internal committee to study the case and decide on
punishment. The committee must have a retired district and session judge as
Chairman.

· The committee must make its decision within 30 days. During the 30 day period, the
passenger is prohibited from boarding flights operated by the airline that filed the
report.

· If the committee does not decide within 30 days, the case against the passenger is
automatically dropped.

Punishment and Exceptions

· A passenger on the list is prohibited from flying on any aircraft operated by the airline
that placed them on the list for the duration of their ban. Other airlines may choose to
deny service to the passenger but are not compelled to do so.

· The DGCA rules only apply to Indian airlines, so a person on a no-fly list may still fly
internationally.

· The no-fly list only governs passenger behaviour onboard scheduled and non-scheduled
flights. Offences committed within the airport premises fall under the jurisdiction of
the relevant security agency in charge of that airport.

Appeal

· A banned passenger has the right to appeal their ban within 60 days of committee
decision.

· Appeals are reviewed by a panel set up by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

· If the panel upholds the decision, the passenger may seek further redress through the
High Court.

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