‘Use restraining devices’: DGCA to airlines on unruly passengers

India

oi-Deepika S

The
DGCA
said
the
pilot
in
command
is
responsible
for
assessing
a
situation
and
relay
information
to
the
airline’s
central
control
on
the
ground
for
further
action.

New
Delhi,
Jan
06:
Amid
outrage
over
incidents
of
Air
India
flyers
urinating
on
co-passengers,
the
Directorate
General
of
Civil
Aviation
(DGCA)
has
sent
an
advisory
to
airlines
in
handling
unruly
travellers.

In
the
guidelines
–
sent
to
the
head
of
operations
of
scheduled
airlines
–
the
regulator
has
said
that
airline
staff
will
face
action
if
they
fail
to
act
against
passengers
who
are
unruly
or
behave
inappropriately.

“In
the
recent
past,
DGCA
has
noticed
a
few
incidents
of
unruly
behavior
and
inappropriate
conduct
by
the
passengers
on
board
the
aircraft
during
flight,
wherein
it
is
observed
that
post
holders,
pilots
and
cabin
crew
members
have
failed
to
take
appropriate
actions,”
the
statement
read.

“Non-action/
inappropriate
action/
omission
by
the
airlines
towards
such
untoward
incidents
has
tarnished
the
image
of
air
travel
in
different
segments
of
society,”
it
added.

The
DGCA
said
the
pilot
in
command
is
responsible
for
assessing
a
situation
and
relay
information
to
the
airline’s
central
control
on
the
ground
for
further
action.

“Upon
landing
of
the
aircraft,
airline
representative
shall
lodge
FIR
with
the
concerned
security
agency
at
aerodrome,
to
whom,
the
unruly
passenger
shall
be
handed
over,”
it
said.

In
the
shocking
incident,
an
inebriated
man
allegedly
urinated
on
his
female
co-passenger,
a
senior
citizen
in
her
seventies,
in
the
business
class
of
an
Air
India
New
York-Delhi
flight
on
November
26
last
year.
The
other
incident
was
reported
on
Paris-Delhi
December
6
flight.

Air
India
has
banned
the
accused
for
30
days
and
told
its
staff
to
report
any
improper
behaviour
on
aircraft
to
authorities
at
the
earliest
even
if
the
matter
appears
to
have
been
settled.

The
regulator
had
sought
a
report
from
Air
India
on
the
incident
which
it
did
not
report
to
the
regulator.
The
airline
said
did
not
take
any
penal
action
against
the
accused
as
the
case
was
settled
between
the
passengers.