DGCA moots 1-yr jail for rowdy flyers

New Delhi: Harassing an air hostess, picking unnecessary fights with fellow passengers or doing anything that puts flight safety at risk will soon mean spending a year in jail with a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh. And, being drunk and not in control of oneself will no longer be a defence against this stringent punishment for such acts.
The existing loophole in the law, used in the past to protect unruly passengers on international flights from punishment, is being plugged. Now, rowdy or unsafe behaviour on a flight, whose next stop is India, will invite punishment irrespective of whether the alleged offence was committed in Indian or foreign airspace.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is learned to be laying down these new rules to curb the growing menace of unruly passengers. While incidents of teasing air hostesses and unsafe behaviour have grown dramatically in recent times, the existing rules were, in fact, saving the offenders instead of punishing them. Apart from self-proclaimed hijackers, rowdy passengers are usually let off with a warning simply because no watertight case can be made against them.
Legally speaking, three activities -- smoking, having alcohol (domestic flights only) and using mobiles -- are banned in an aircraft. But there is at present no written rule that forbids passengers from harassing or assaulting crew members or other passengers. Similarly, there have been instances where unruly passengers were handed over to the police only to be told later that since their rowdy behaviour happened in foreign airspace, they cannot be tried under Indian laws.
24/03/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Mar 2010, Safety Mar 2010