The aviation watchdog Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken notice of the increasing incidents after another Air India incident and has issued a warning. Airlines received a reminder from DGCA on Monday on how to handle customers who engage in disruptive behaviour.
The Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) has provisions that permit an airline to take action against a customer who acts inappropriately, according to the DGCA guideline. Nevertheless, this is not the end of it.
In its recommendation, the DGCA further noted that the CAR also outlines the duties of pilots, members of the cabin crew, and the director of inflight services. So, it is crucial to be aware of them and follow them while interacting with passengers.
Although incidences of disorderly passenger behaviour have increased recently, the DGCA has also criticised the flight crew, including the captain, when it deemed they had not taken the necessary measures. The aviation authority even claimed that it had seen some instances of passengers acting improperly as a consequence of smoking and drinking aboard aeroplanes.
Moreover, the DGCA has stressed that all airlines must classify these instances into the following groups:
Level 1: Disorderly conduct (physical gestures, verbal harassment, unruly inebriation etc)
Level 2: Physically violent abuse (pushing, kicking, hitting, grabbing or inappropriate touching or sexual harassment etc)
Level 3: Behavior that might be fatal (damage to aircraft operating systems, physical violence such as choking, eye gouging, murderous assault attempted or actual breach of the flight crew compartment etc.)
According to a statement from the DGCA, “Head of operations of all Airlines are hereby advised to sensitise their pilots, cabin crew, and post holders on handling of unruly passengers through appropriate means including but not limited to training programmes for ensuring effective monitoring, maintenance of good order, and discipline on board the aircraft, and to ensure that aircraft operations safety is not jeopardised in any way.
