NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has junked a plea seeking directions to the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to frame specific rules for addressing misconduct, harassment, and misbehaviour by airline personnel towards passengers.
Justice Amit Mahajan said the High Court “cannot issue a general direction compelling the government to formulate rules or prescribe specific disciplinary measures merely because a petitioner considers them appropriate.”
“The formulation of rules, regulations, and regulatory guidelines falls within the domain of the competent authorities and is a matter of policy,” the judge said.
The judge was hearing a petition filed by a woman who alleged that a customer-care executive of an airline had used “vulgar, abusive, and gendered language” towards her when she contacted the airline's customer-care service.
She alleged that despite making several representations to the airline seeking accountability and disciplinary action against the concerned employee, “no meaningful action was taken”.
While rejecting the petition, the judge said, “The purpose of providing mechanisms for dealing with passenger misconduct is to ensure the safety and security of airports and flights. With regard to any unruly behaviour by airline personnel, the same can be dealt with through appropriate civil/criminal remedies.”
The judge also noted the DGCA's submission that the petitioner's grievance concerning the incident had already been addressed by the airline through necessary corrective and preventive actions.
After noting the submission, the court said that no further direction for initiating action against the airline in respect of the same incident was warranted. “Needless to observe, any act of misconduct or unlawful behaviour by airline personnel may be addressed by an aggrieved passenger through appropriate civil or criminal remedies, as may be available in law,” the judge said.
The petitioner had approached the court seeking directions to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA to frame appropriate rules and guidelines under the existing Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) to address misconduct, abuse, harassment, negligence, and misbehaviour by airline personnel.
She had also sought the establishment of a fair, transparent, and time-bound mechanism for receiving, investigating, and redressing complaints against airline staff.
