Air India considers imposing penalty of up to Rs 15 lakh on unruly passengers

The airline is mulling to penalize passengers who delay flights by their unruly behaviour and the amount could be up to Rs 15 lakh. A fine of Rs 5 lakh would be levied for delay up to one hour and can go up to Rs 10 lakh for a delay between one to two hours and Rs. 15 lakh for more than two hours delay, airline sources said. The latest proposal comes less than a month after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulted a staffer of the national carrier at the airport in New Delhi. Since the incident involving Gaikwad on March 23, the national carrier as well as the government have been exploring ways to bolster the existing mechanism to rein in unruly passengers. The Gaikwad issue had also rocked Parliament and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Home Minister Rajnath Singh had to intervene to sort out the issue. Back in 2015, another MP had assaulted an Air India officer at Tirupati airport. Besides the fines, the airline also plans to provide necessary training to the staff for dealing with unruly passengers. Under the new procedure proposed to be followed in such cases, the airline wants the flight staff to report such matters immediately to the CMD (Chairman and Managing Director) office or other top officials and avoid any direct interaction with the media. Besides, an FIR or police complaint has to be filed immediately and any property damage to be assessed and claimed at the earliest. The Centre is already in the process of establishing a “ national no-fly list” for unruly passengers after Gaikwad's episode. The Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) are being amended by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to facilitate such a list. “ This is nothing to do with the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) being amended by the Government Air India is doing it for its self defence and for better safety and security of both passengers and airline staff,” AI sources said about the proposal.