New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an advisory on Monday, asking all airlines to sensitise pilots and crew members on handling unruly passengers amid a recent rise in such incidents.
In an advisory, the aviation regulator pointed out provisions under the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) for action to be taken by the airline to deal with unruly passengers.
“Head of operations of all Airlines are hereby advised to sensitize their pilots, cabin Crew and post holders on handling of unruly passengers through appropriate means including but not limited to training programme for ensuring effective monitoring, maintenance of good order and discipline on board the aircraft so that safety of aircraft operations is not jeopardised in any manner,” the advisory said.
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The regulator also pointed out that in the recent past, it has noticed a few incidents such as smoking in aircraft, consumption of alcoholic beverages resulting in unruly behaviour, altercations between passengers and sometimes inappropriate touching or sexual harassment by the passengers during the flight, wherein “post holders, pilots and cabin crew members have failed to take appropriate actions”.
“Such incidents have the potential of compromising the safety of aircraft operations,” it added.
DGCA rules state that the passengers should be made aware that in case his/her behaviour falls into one of the unruly categories (if he smokes or consumes alcohol or drugs, or fails to obey pilot’s instructions or uses threatening or abusive language for crew or passengers, physically threatens the crew- interferes while they perform their duties or endangers the safety of the passengers and the aircraft), he/she could be arrested on arrival or at any other airport where the pilot may choose to land.
The civil aviation requirements (CAR) on unruly passengers categorizes unruly passengers into three levels: passengers with behavioural issues. (physical gestures, verbal harassment, unruly inebriation etc.)
Passengers with Physically abusive behaviour (pushing, kicking, hitting, grabbing or inappropriate touching or sexual harassment etc.) are categorized as level 2 and the ones life-threatening behaviour (damage to aircraft operating systems, physical violence such as choking, eye gouging, murderous assault, attempted or actual for each of the flight crew compartment etc.) are categorized as level 3 offenders.
On the basis of these levels, the internal committee of the airline decides the duration for which the unruly passengers can be banned from flying.
The DGCA stated that the pilot-in-command is responsible for the safety of the passengers and cargo carried and for the maintenance of flight discipline and safety of the members of the crew in addition to being responsible for the operation and safety of the aircraft during flight.
It said that he is responsible for assessing quickly if the Cabin Crew can control the situation and accordingly relay this information to the airline’s central control on the ground for further action. Upon landing of the aircraft, the Airline representative should lodge an FIR with the concerned security agency at aerodrome, to whom the unruly passengers should be handed over.
The regulator however, said that it’s the cabin crew’s duty to defuse a critical situation until it becomes clear that there is no way to resolve it through verbal communication and written notice to passengers.
‘Applying restraining devices should be used when all conciliatory approaches have been exhausted,’ it stated.
The DGCA also specified that the director-in-flight Services is responsible for reporting any such incident to them.
