Passenger arrested for harassing air hostess, may be put on no-fly list

NEW DELHI: A 62-year-old Pune businessman who allegedly touched a female flight attendant inappropriately while disembarking from a Vistara flight may become the first passenger to be put on the no-fly list introduced in September.

The man, Rajeev Vasant Dani, was arrested by Delhi Police after the incident, which took place on March 24, was reported by the Vistara employee.

“On March 24, a crew member of Vistara airlines reported a matter of harassment in flight UK-997 Lucknow-to-delhi by Rajeev Vasant Dani. A case was registered and the passenger was arrested,” deputy commissioner of police (airport) Sanjay Bhatia said.

Vistara, run by Tata SIA Airlines Ltd, is waiting for an investigation to be completed before it decides whether to recommend the passenger’s inclusion inthe no-fly list, an airline official said.

“A member of our cabin crew...reported an incident of sexual harassment by a passenger,” a Vistara spokesperson said. “Vistara does not tolerate abusive or unruly behaviour by passengers that puts the safety of its staff and other customers at risk, or compromises their dignity. We have reported the matter to the Police and other relevant authorities. An FIR (first information report) is registered and investigation is on. We are fully committed to providing our cooperation to all the authorities,” the spokesperson added.

Harassment through gestures or remarks can earn a passenger a three-month ban from flying. Physically abusive behaviour is punishable by a six-month flight ban and any “life-threatening behaviour” could get a passenger grounded for two years or more.

The national no-fly list is overseen by India’s civil aviation regulator.

In October, Birju Kishore Salla, 36, was arrested for pasting a threat letter in the washroom of a Jet Airways flight. The flight had to be diverted and multiple agencies carried out security checks before declaring it a hoax.

The then aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju advised the airline to put the passenger in the no-fly list. Because he was booked by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) and terror charges were slapped on Salla, he automatically came onto the no-fly list.