Ravindra Gaikwad effect: Govt proposes no-fly list to tackle unruly passengers

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Friday proposed a no-fly list to deal with unruly passengers in the wake of the assault incident involving Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad.

This comes a month after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad thrashed an Air India employee.

After the incident, Air India and members of the Federation of Indian Airlines that includes IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Go Air proposed creating the country's first such no-fly list.

Moneycontrol had reported in April about the government's plan to notify rules for instituting a no-fly list.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju said: "The ministry has listed 3 levels to identify unruly behaviour."

Level 1: Disruptive behaviour like physical gestures, abusive language

(suspension for 3 months)

Level 2: Physically abusive behaviour like pushing, kicking, sexual harassment etc.

Level 3: Life-threatening behaviour.

Punishment for all three categories will also be different. For the first category, suspension of three months will be applicable.

For level two offences, punishment will be six months and for level three offences, suspension of two years or more is possible.

The list will be maintained by the country's civil aviation regulator, Reuters quoted Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey as saying.

For effective implementation of the draft, the Centre has made some identification mandatory either Aadhaar or passport number while booking even a domestic tickets.

The revised norms will tackle any unruly behaviour and will strike a balance between the rights of passengers and carriers.

The public can give feedback on the draft for a month. Depending on the feedback received, the aviation ministry will take some time to study them and come out final rules.