The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued an advisory to all Indian airlines on unruly behaviour by passengers during flight operations. The advisory comes after a string of incidents experienced by Indian airlines due to inappropriate passenger behaviour. The incidents include smoking on board aircraft, unruly behaviour caused by the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and passenger altercations which have sometimes involved inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment.
The DGCA advisory directs the heads of operations of all airlines to ensure that aircrew cabin crew and related post holders are made proficient on handling procedures for unruly passengers.
The DGCA drew attention to Paragraph 4.9 of the CAR Section 3, which requires that passengers involved in the above-mentioned situations must be made aware that they may be breaking the law, and may be subject to arrest on arrival at the destination.
The aim is to ensure effective monitoring, maintenance of good order and discipline on board the aircraft safety of aircraft operations is not jeopardized in any manner.
Going ahead, the regulator directed airline internal committees to make a determination on the duration of time such unruly passengers shall be banned from air travel.
Some of the common problems faced by Indian airlines due to unruly passengers include verbal and physical abuse of crew members, non-compliance with safety protocols, consumption of alcohol or drugs on board, and even attempts to open emergency exits mid-flight.