What's the punishment for urinating on co-passengers, fighting on flights?

Two incidents of men urinating on female co-passengers on different Air India flights have come to light recently, prompting widespread outrage.

Referring to the November incident where an inebriated man allegedly urinated on a senior citizen, the aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), slammed the Tata Group-owned airline, saying its conduct was “unprofessional” and led to “systemic failure”.

Even though the incident happened late last year, Air India filed a police complaint only on 4 January against the offender, Mumbai businessman Shankar Mishra, NDTV reported citing the First Information Report (FIR).

Air India has launched a probe into the incident that took place on its New York to Delhi flight on 26 November, and also imposed a 30-day flying ban on the businessman.

A similar incident took place in December last year when a “drunk” male passenger allegedly urinated on a blanket of a female passenger on the Paris-Delhi Air India flight.

Airport officials told news agency PTI that the man was nabbed by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) when the plane landed but was later let go after the two passengers had a “mutual compromise” and the accused submitted a “written apology”.

As per ANI, Indian aviation authorities are considering putting the passengers who were involved in a brawl on a Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata last year, on a no-fly list.

With such incidents of air rage becoming more and more common, what are the behaviours that can land one on a no-fly list? Let’s find out.

How no-fly list came into existence

Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) issued by DGCA deems unruly behaviour on planes an offence and a punishable act.

“Although unruly passengers represent only a minuscule proportion of passengers as a whole, even one unruly passenger can jeopardise safety on board. Unruly passengers affect all personnel involved in the process connected with a flight operation, ultimately affecting the operation of the flight itself,” says CAR, as per Deccan Herald.

The government came up with the rules for a no-fly list after an incident involving then Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad who had assaulted an Air India staffer on a flight in 2017 came to light. He was debarred by several carriers for two weeks after the incident.

In September of that year, the government released the rules for the no-fly list.

ALSO READ: Are Indian flyers suffering from air rage?

DGCA’s rules on the no-fly list

The government came up with a set of rules in 2017 to prevent disruptive behaviour by flyers onboard planes and released guidelines for a no-fly list.

The rules state that the complaint about the unruly passenger has to be filed by the pilot-in-command, which will be investigated by an internal committee set up by the concerned airline.

This committee will incorporate a retired district and sessions judge as chairman, as well as a representative from a different scheduled airline, and a representative from a passengers association or consumer association.

During the period of the inquiry, the concerned airline has the power to ban the passenger.

The panel is required to take a decision within 30 days, and also clarify how long the passenger will not be allowed to fly.

If the internal committee fails to come to a conclusion within that period, the passenger is free to fly, noted Indian Express. 

Under the CAR, an airline can ban an individual from flying for a lifetime.

Once a person is placed on a no-fly list, other airlines also have the option to impose a similar ban.

The individual who has been banned by airlines has the right to appeal within 60 days from the date of issue of the order to an Appellate Committee set up by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, as per Indian Express. 

What will land a passenger on the no-fly list?

As per the DGCA, a list of unruly behaviour includes consuming alcohol or drugs which may result in disruption, smoking in an aircraft, using threatening or abusive language towards a member of the crew or other passengers, intentionally interfering with the performance of a crew member’s duties and so on.

The nature of unruly acts which will decide the period of the ban has been classified as Level 1, 2, or 3.

Level 1 includes behaviours such as “physical gestures, verbal harassment, unruly inebriation”. This can lead to a ban of up to three months.

Physically abusive behaviour like “pushing, kicking, hitting, grabbing or inappropriate touching or sexual harassment”, which constitutes Level 2, will attract a debarment of up to six months.

Level 3 comprises of life-threatening behaviour such as damage to aircraft operating systems, “physical violence such as choking, eye gouging, murderous assault, attempted or actual breach of the flight crew compartment etc”. In such a scenario, the ban can range from a minimum of two years or more to an indefinite period.

The Ministry of Home Affairs can also provide a list of individuals identified as “national security threats” to DGCA and the airlines, for inclusion in the no-fly list, as per PTI.

ALSO READ: Why are Indians flying out of control?

Who is on the no-fly list?

As per The New Indian Express report in 2020, only one Mumbai-based jeweller has been placed on the no-fly list so far.

In 2017, Birju Kishore Salla, a multi-millionaire on a Jet Airways Mumbai-Delhi flight had left a false note in the lavatory, claiming there were hijackers and explosives in the cargo area of the flight. This caused an emergency landing of the plane at Ahmedabad airport.

He became the first person to be put on the no-fly list and was also charged under the new Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016.

The recent incidents of unruly behaviour have invoked the public’s memory of when stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra was banned for months by several airlines for allegedly heckling Republic founder Arnab Goswami onboard an Indigo flight in 2020.

Questioning the civil aviation’s regulatory body over a mere ban of 30-days on Mishra, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra tweeted on Wednesday, “Bit confused as to how @DGCAIndia (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) works- @kunalkamra88 got a 6-month ban for questioning a co-passenger but another man who peed on an AI co-flyer gets a 30-day ban. Kunal… maybe change tack next time? Clearly more is less”.

Bit confused as to how @DGCAIndia
works- @kunalkamra88 got 6 month ban for questioning co-passenger but another man who pee’d on AI co-flyer gets 30 day ban.

Kunal… maybe change tack next time? Clearly more is less.

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) January 4, 2023

Kamra had also earlier taken a jab at Air India over the ban period.

With inputs from agencies

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