New rules issued for passengers committing flight

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued new rules to deal with passengers who are involved in flying during the flight. These rules have been issued to aircraft companies and their crew members. The DGCA has stated that the implementation of new rules and regulations in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic may increase the tension among passengers. This can result in disputes between passengers and crew members. 

A circular issued by the DGCA states that crew members must be aware of some new issues they face during flights. Such as passengers not wearing masks or not covering their faces in aircraft, race, nationalities, hometowns, or symptoms similar to Covid-19 in a passenger can cause a quarrel between them.

The DGCA stated, ‘In order to deal with passengers originating in the environment of Kovid-19, the operator (airline) should detail the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) at the beginning for the journey in the aircraft. The circular states that there is a possibility of increasing cases of commotion by passengers before, after or during the journey.

The Directorate General has asked the airlines to widely publicize their policy of dealing with the passengers who are creating a mess. They can tell this as much as possible on their website, during ticket purchase, during the check-in process.

The DGCA stated that for the identification, prevention and management of unbridled passengers in the context of the Covid-19, operators should announce procedures during the flight and develop ‘associated training procedures’ to sensitize the crew. This type of behavior, during the Covid-19 pandemic, new regulations may put pressure on passengers to behave uncontrollably and lead to controversy with their crew members. Therefore extra attention is required for the prevention and management of unruly passengers.