Hindustan Times (Delhi)

No-fly list: Unruly passengers may face two-year ban

- HT Correspond­ent letters@hindustant­imes.com

The government proposed on Friday three-tier rules for a national no-fly list in an attempt to crack down on ill-behaved passengers and powerful politician­s who often abuse and bully staff for convenienc­e.

The aviation ministry’s draft rules say any unruly behaviour will invite suspension from flying for a minimum of three months. The maximum penalty could be grounding for two years or more. The draft rules will be put up on the ministry’s website for a month for public comments.

“These provisions are completely open to suggestion­s,” civil aviation secretary RN Choubey said.

The rules come weeks after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad beat up an elderly Air India employee after altercatio­n over seat allocation.

A video of the assault went viral on social media, triggering nationwide outrage and forcing for gestures or verbal harassment for physically abusive behaviour or more for life-threatenin­g behaviour

Govt may pass airport security cost to travellers

the politician to apologise in Parliament.

But civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju dismissed any links between the draft rules and the parliament­arian from Maharashtr­a’s Osmanabad.

“Keep professor Gaikwad out of it. Not all Indians are professor Gaikwad... We need balanced regulation... I expect responses to come which will be balanced...,” civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju told reporters.

CONTINUED ON P 7

Months after the national capital’s only Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand was dismantled, the Delhi government has taken the idea back to the drawing board. This time, it wants to introduce an improved version of the transport system between Shastri Park and Karawal Nagar.

The 15-kilometre corridor in East Delhi was supposed to be built as part of the second phase of the original BRT project by the erstwhile Sheila Dikshit government in 2011. However, it was shelved after the first stretch in South Delhi failed to improve traffic conditions.

The Delhi Integrated MultiModal Transit System (DIMTS) may be asked to study the Shastri Park-Karawal Nagar stretch for building the corridor. It is expected to have three branches — from Bhajanpura to the main road, Shastri Park to Mori Gate, and a third one starting from Gandhi Nagar.

CONTINUED ON P 7

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India