Air India receives DGCA notice for not reporting unruly passengers
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday issued a show cause notice to Air India for not reporting the unruly behaviors of two drunk passengers onboard its AI-142 flight from Paris to Delhi on December 6. The notice said the airline didn't report two incidents, where one passenger urinated on a woman's blanket and another passenger smoked near the washroom against rules.
Why does this story matter?
The DGCA notice follows a string of bizarre mid-air episodes onboard several Indian carriers' flights. The most horrific incident involved a Mumbai-based man—who has now been arrested—urinating on his woman co-passenger on Air India's New York-Delhi flight on November 26. However, the unruly passengers on its Paris-Delhi flight are free. Meanwhile, two passengers of IndiGo's Delhi-Patna flight were arrested on Sunday for consuming alcohol.
Air India's response lackadaisical, delayed: DGCA
In a statement, the DGCA said, "Air India didn't report the incident until DGCA sought the incident report...on January 5, 2023." It said the airline's email response on Friday (January 6) showed that provisions for handling unruly passengers had not been followed on the said flight. "It has been noted that the response of the airline has been lackadaisical and delayed," the statement added.
DGCA sets two-week deadline for Air India to reply
The DGCA also served a show cause notice to the Accountable Manager of Air India, asking them to explain "why enforcement action should not be taken" against them for violating regulatory obligations. However, the Accountable Manager has been given two weeks to respond, and based on that, additional action will be taken in accordance with the norms of natural justice, said the DGCA.
Unruly passenger incidents on Paris-Delhi flight
The notice mentioned two instances on AI's Paris-Delhi flight last month. While a drunk passenger had urinated on the blanket of a woman co-passenger, another one, also inebriated, was caught smoking at the lavatory. The November incident on the airline's New York-Delhi flight triggered widespread outrage, following which the accused—Shankar Mishra—was arrested. Air India didn't report any of these incidents before they made headlines.
What do DGCA provisions say about unruly passenger behavior?
Reporting unruly passenger incidents to the DGCA is mandated under Civil Aviation Requirements, Section-3, Series-M, Part-VI and Cabin Safety Circular 02 of 2010. Involved passengers can be put on the "no-fly list" for zero days or a lifetime. Until a duration is decided, airlines can ban them for up to 30 days. Airlines are required to notify such incidents within 12 hours of landing.
Matter must be referred to internal committee
As per rules, the concerned airline should report unruly passenger incidents to an internal committee, which will decide on the duration of their ban. A retired district and sessions judge should serve as the panel's chairman, along with a representative of another scheduled airline, a retired official of the Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, and a representative from a passengers' or consumers' body as members.
