DGCA issues advisory on handling unruly passengers

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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Indian aviation regulator, issued an advisory on April 10 to airlines in the country to take strict action against unruly passengers to ensure aircraft safety.

The DGCA emphasized the existing provisions to deal with such passengers and the potential of their behavior to compromise flight safety.

This advisory follows a series of incidents involving disorderly passengers onboard flights. For instance, on April 10, Air India offloaded a 25-year-old male passenger from a Delhi-London flight for causing physical harm to two cabin crew members.

Similarly, on April 8, a drunk man attempted to open the emergency hatch mid-air on an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Bengaluru.

The DGCA reminded airlines that the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) provides for actions to be taken against unruly passengers. The CAR also outlines the responsibilities of pilots, cabin crew members, and the director of inflight services.

“Head of operations of all airlines are hereby advised to sensitise their pilots, cabin crew, and post holders on the handling of unruly passengers through appropriate means, including but not limited to training programmes,” the advisory said.

It added that sensitisation aims at “ensuring effective monitoring, maintenance of good order, and discipline onboard the aircraft so that the safety of aircraft operations is not jeopardised in any manner”.

The aviation watchdog also said that in the recent past, it has noticed a few incidents such as smoking in aircraft, consumption of alcoholic beverages resulting in unruly behaviour, altercations between passengers and sometimes inappropriate touching or sexual harassment by the passengers onboard an aircraft during the flight, wherein "post holders, pilots and cabin crew members have failed to take appropriate actions".

In a reminder to pilots and cabin crew, the DGCA listed out key points of the exhaustive Civil Aviation Rules that specifically address how to handle unruly passengers and any behaviour that could put flight safety at risk.

“… Passengers should be made aware that in case his/her behaviour falls into one of the following categories, he/she is likely to be breaking the law and could be arrested on arrival,” the DGCA said, referring to violations such as consuming alcohol or drugs, smoking, not obeying the pilot and giving physical threats, among others.

The regulator mentioned that the responsibility of an airline and its employees when handling rowdy flyers is specified under Aircraft Rules, 1937, as well as DGCA regulations.

The DGCA also said that it grades offences into three levels and the repercussions of the offences increase with the severity of the infraction.

Level 1: Unruly physical gestures, verbal harassment and unruly inebriation: Ban up to three months.

Level 2: Physically abusive behaviour (pushing, kicking, hitting, inappropriate touching): Ban up to six months.

Level 3: Life-threatening behaviour — assaults, damage to aircraft systems, physical violence like choking and murderous assault: Ban is minimum of two years and can stretch indefinitely.

Depending on the level of unruly behaviour, an internal committee set up by the airline concerned can decide on the duration for which an unruly passenger can be banned from flying.

In line with the regulations, the decision to put an uncontrollable passenger on the no-fly list is based on the recommendation of internal committees constituted by the airlines to investigate such incidents.

In February, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said that domestic airlines banned 143 passengers from flying for disruptive and unruly behaviour in the past five years