Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'No-fly list for safety of airline passengers' that was published in Newsband

No-fly list for safety of airline passengers

The Centre has come up with a decision to put unruly air passengers on a no-fly list ranging from three months to a lifetime, depending upon the gravity of the offence. The quantum of punishment is to be decided by an internal committee of the airline in question. Aggrieved passengers can appeal within 60 days to an appellate committee. Other airlines will not, however, be bound by one airline’s no-fly ban.

In case of India, these appear necessary in particular because of a widespread culture of entitlement, especially among ‘VIPs’, and growing incidents of air rage. The no-fly list system has been adopted by other countries too. Preventive measures such as a no-fly list should be enforced only for the most egregious of cases.

Unruly passengers have been categorised under three levels and the quantum of flying ban will range between three months and two years and beyond, which would also include a life-time ban. A draft of the proposed no-fly list was floated in May with the ministry holding internal discussions to define a ‘boundary’ crossing which an unruly passenger would be put in the list. A number of incidents involving members of Parliament had resulted in clamour for an official no-fly list.

There is need to ensure that a no-fly list is not used arbitrarily. After all, the initial decision to ban the passenger will be that of the airline before it is deliberated upon by a committee constituted by it. The final rules for creating a ‘National No Fly’ list wherein unruly behaviour by air passengers could invite a flying ban ranging from three months to an indefinite period, depending upon the severity of the offence. These rules, which define three levels of unruly behaviour (see box), will be applicable for all Indian airlines engaged in domestic and international transport of passengers.

The concept of a No-Fly List is based “on the concern for safety of passengers, crew and the aircraft, and not just on security threat”. It is to bring in a deterrent for passengers who engage in unruly behaviour on board aircraft. It will be applicable to foreign carriers subject to compliance of Tokyo Convention 1963. The Convention allows a contracting country to impose its criminal jurisdiction on an aircraft in flight if there is a breach of flight related rules, in case the offence has been committed by or against a national of that country and if it harms its security.

While these rules deal with unruly behaviour on board an aircraft, similar behaviour at airport premises will be dealt with by security agencies concerned. The focus of the new rules have been on ensuring on board safety while maintaining an element of balance and safeguarding the interest of passengers, cabin crew and the airlines, Sinha said.

As per the rules, the complaint of unruly behaviour would need to be filed by the pilot-in-command and these will be probed by an internal committee to be set up by the airline. The internal committee will have a retired district & sessions judge as chairman and representatives from a different scheduled airline, passengers’ association/consumer association/retired officer of the Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum as members.

The No Fly Lists will have two components — unruly passengers banned for a certain period based on examination of the case by the internal committee; and those persons perceived to be national security risk by the Ministry of Home Affairs. How will the airlines would track an unruly passenger banned by them? This could be done by making an Aadhaar card or a passport mandatory for booking a ticket.