Air India to empower staff to tackle unruly fliers

Air India (AI) plans more autonomy to its managers at airports under a stricter framework being prepared to deal with unruly fliers.

Since Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulting an AI staffer last month, the national carrier and the government have been exploring ways to bolster the existing mechanism to rein in unruly passengers.

Providing more autonomy for managers, a stronger mechanism to report incidents of untoward behaviour and monetary compensation from unruly fliers are being looked at.

“The draft guidelines, prepared with the assistance of Air India’s legal department, are now with Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani. Once we get a go-ahead from him, we will make these public,” an official said.

Under the new guidelines, an airport manager would be empowered to take action against a passenger showing unruly behaviour either onboard or on the ground, without waiting for approval of the chairman.

“The guidelines have a provision to seek financial compensation from any such passenger for the loss of revenue if the flight is held up due to such incidents,” the official said.

The airline has also changed the log book entry format to ensure the exact reason for delay in flights are recorded, rather than generic explanations. The government is planning a ‘no fly’ list as part of stronger measures to deal with unruly behaviour by individuals onboard.

Following the Gaikwad incident, AI and other domestic airlines had barred him from flying with them. AI later revoked the ban.