NEW DELHI: The Centre will release regulations for the much-awaited ‘no-fly list’ on Friday that would incorporate names of passengers declared ‘unruly’ by any airline and names of persons identified as a threat.
Post the implementation of the first-of-its-kind list, Indian domestic flyers will have to provide government identity proof to book flight tickets, sources in the civil aviation ministry said. Aadhaar, driving licence, passport or Pan card would be considered for booking of air tickets.
The government is also considering making the voter ID card a valid identity proof for the purpose but a final call on this is yet to be taken. The no-fly list will empower domestic airlines to impose a ban on unruly passengers for their misconduct. Additionally, the Ministry of Home Affairs would be able to put individuals who are identified as “national security threat” on ‘no-fly list’.
India’s list will be unique because the no-fly lists in other countries are based only on security grounds and do not consider safety reasons. Such lists in other countries ban people who are considered a threat to society but India’s list will have people recommended by not just security agencies but also people who misbehave in the air.
The civil aviation ministry had released draft guidelines for the no-fly list in May this year and had sought opinion of stakeholders and public on the issue. The draft proposed that domestic airlines be allowed to impose a ban on unruly passengers in the range of three months to life time flying ban, depending on the degree of misconduct.
According to the draft of Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) on “Handling of unruly or disruptive passengers”, unruly passengers could be categorised on three levels. Firstly, three months for disruptive behaviour such as physical gestures, secondly, six months for physically abusive behaviour such as pushing, kicking and sexual harassment and lastly, two years or more for life threatening behaviour, including damage to aircraft systems. For every subsequent offence, the passenger may be banned for twice the period of the previous ban, the guidelines stated.
Though the “no-fly list” was in pipeline for a long time, the proposal gained momentum in the aftermath of several incidents where MPs were found misbehaving with the airline staff. In April, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad beat up an Air India staffer with his slippers. After the incident, all domestic airlines had barred Gaikwad from flying. However, the ban was later revoked when he submitted an apology to the civil aviation minister. Minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha had earlier said, “India will be the first country in the world to have a national no-fly list based on safety.”