No-fly list - unruly passengers banned

In order to put disorderly passengers on ‘No-fly’ list Indian government devised lists of offences for airline passengers. As per the new guidelines, three categories of offences, Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 are listed.

Level 1 offences include physical gestures and verbal harassment. A ban of 3 months from flying would be applicable for them.

Level 2 offence includes physically abusive behavior of unruly passengers for which they will be banned for up to 6 months.

Level 3 offence is the most serious offence which includes damage to aircraft systems, life threatening behavior and assault etc.

It attracts severe punishment. The minimum ban period for this offence is two years.

Ashok Gajapathi Raju, the minister for civil aviation states that legal action will be taken under the present laws for all these offences in addition to the no-fly ban.

Offences will be decided by an independent committee under the supervision of a retired judge within a period of 30 days from the allegation of offence.

Jayant Sinha, the minister of state for civil aviation says that the intention behind devising the ‘No-fly list’ list is to improve the safety and security of the passengers, and also to achieve a balance for the safety of the crew and aircraft.  He added that it is the priority of the government.

Government did not clearly state that whether these guidelines will be enforced retroactively, or only going forward.  If the rules are retroactive methods, they will apply to Ravindra Gaikwad, Shiv Sena Parliamentarian and also to JC Duwakar Reddy TDP Parliamentarian. The former had assaulted Air India staffer six months ago and the latter had damaged property of IndiGo three months ago.

As per the new rules, Aadhaar, driving licence, passport or Pan Number are allowed to submit for booking a flight ticket. Voter’s ID is not included in this list and government has to confirm it.

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