Flyers violating mask mandate can be deemed ‘unruly’: DGCA
Neha LM Tripathi
NEW DELHI: Passengers who do not wear their masks or refuse to follow Covid-19 guidelines can be off-loaded or even declared as “unruly” under a 2017 rule that empowers airlines to place such flyers on a no-fly list for a certain period of time, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Wednesday.
“The airline shall make arrangements for extra face masks and provide them to passengers if required. The airline shall ensure that in case any passenger does not adhere to above instructions even after repeated warnings, he/ she should be de-boarded, if need be, before departure,” the DGCA said in a circular.
The DGCA’S directive comes after a two-judge bench of Delhi high court on Friday ordered strict action, including de-boarding of passengers violating Covid norms such as mandatory wearing of masks and maintaining hygiene at airports and in aircraft.
The instructions were issued on a suo moto case initiated by justice C Hari Shankar in March last year who spotted “stubbornness of the fellow passengers in wearing masks below their chin” during his travel to Kolkata from Delhi that month. He directed immediate de-boarding of the passengers violating the norms despite warnings.
The DGCA’S directive also came on a day India reported 6,449 Covid cases in 24 hours, according to HT’S dashboard.
Airlines must ensure passengers wear masks properly in flight and they are removed under exceptional circumstances and for permitted reasons only, the aviation regulator said. “The airlines shall ensure that passengers are sensitized on the precautionary measures to be taken by them through their websites, travel agents, call centres, display at airports, assistance booths at the airports, etc,” the DGCA circular said.
It added that airlines must make regular announcements on the need for passengers to follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour such as hand hygiene and wearing a mask during travel. “In case, any passenger on board an aircraft refuses to wear a mask or violates the Covid-19 Protocol for passengers even after repeated warnings, during the course of the flight, such passenger will be treated as ‘unruly passenger’ as defined in para 3. 1 of Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 3 Series M Part VI (dated 8” September 2017) and the procedure in respect of handling such unruly passengers, as provided in above-mentioned CAR, will be followed by the concerned airline,” DGCA directorgeneral Arun Kumar said.
The 2017 rules introduce the concept of unruly passengers and empower airlines to ban such passengers for a period ranging from three months to two years.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) or other police personnel deployed at the entrance of the airports have to ensure that no one is allowed to enter the airport without a mask, the DGCA order said, directing the company aviation safety officer (CASO) and other supervising officers to personally ensure compliance. Airport operators must take help from local police and levy fines on people not wearing face masks in terminals, the DGCA said. “The level of punishment for the will be decided as per the offence committed,” a DGCA official said on condition of anonymity.