No fly list: Minimum ban upto three months for unruly behavior

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Friday released India's first no fly list with clearly defined guidelines of what constitutes unruly behaviour and the duration of the ban for each offence.  "No-fly list" is not mandatory for airlines, the Civil Aviation Minister reiterated.

The rules ensure that aircrafts do not step back from keeping blacklisted people off airlines to ensure safety and check on the unruly behaviour of passengers and staff.

“The motive behind the No-Fly List is safety & security of passengers, which is our priority,” Jayant Sinha, MoS Civil Aviation said.

According to the norms, the maximum penalty will be for a minimum of two years. The no-fly list will be regulated by India’s civil aviation regulator.

Unruly behaviour will now be categorised into three levels

• Level 1 includes unruly physical gestures, verbal harassment and unruly inebriation. The quantum of the ban for this level is up to three months.
• A Level 2 offence includes physically abusive behaviour (pushing, kicking, hitting, inappropriate touching) and quantum of the ban for it is up to 6 months.
• A Level 3 offence includes life threatening behaviour - assaults, damage to aircraft systems etc. The ban for a level three offence is for a minimum of two years.

While addressing the media, the Aviation Minister said that the rules were made keeping in mind the Tokyo Convention and added that the Ministry would “never compromise on security.” He added “Airlines can ban accused, complaints to be filed within 30 days.”

Earlier in the day, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju said on Twitter, “To ensure safety and check unruly behaviour on aircraft, we'll put in place, a mechanism for India's first No-Fly list today.”

This announcement comes merely six weeks after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulted an Air India official.

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