No Fly List (India)

The National No Fly List is an Indian government initiative to identify disruptive passengers and temporarily prohibit them from boarding flights. The objective of the list is "to ensure safety and check unruly and disruptive behaviour on aircraft". The no-fly list is compiled and maintained by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) based on inputs from airlines. The no-fly list only governs passenger behaviour onboard scheduled and non-scheduled flights. Offences committed within the airport premises fall under the jurisdiction of the relevant security agency in charge of that airport.[1]

Passengers who engage in unruly physical gestures, verbal harassment, unruly inebriation, physically abusive behaviour, or any life-threatening action on board an aircraft can be placed on the list. A passenger on the list is prohibited from flying on any aircraft operated by the airline that placed them on the list for the duration of their ban. Other airlines may choose to deny service to the passenger but are not compelled to do so. The full list of individuals placed on the no fly list is displayed on the DGCA website.

The list was adopted after Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Gaikwad was accused of thrashing Air India staff with his shoe, when they tried to make him disembark the plane on 23 March 2017. He was accused of unruly behaviour after being denied a business class seat on a flight from Delhi to Pune because the flight was all economy. [2] Gaikwad was subsequently banned by several airlines when he tried to book a flight through them using various identities, but was unsuccessful.[3][4]

The Ministry of Civil Aviation unveiled draft plans for a national no-fly list in May 2017.[5][6] The Ministry officially created the no-fly list on 8 September 2017 and notified rules concerning the list. The DGCA revised relevant sections of the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR Section 3, Series M, Part Vl on "Handling of Unruly Passengers") in accordance with the provisions of the 1963 Tokyo Convention.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference HBL1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Phukan, Sandeep (3 March 2017). "'Hit Him 25 Times': Sena MP's Assault Has Air India Debating No-Fly List". NDTV. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  3. ^ Bawa, Parmeshwar (24 March 2017). "Not On Our Flights: Airlines Ban Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, 2 Cancel His Ticket". NDTV. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  4. ^ Haidar, Faizan (29 March 2017). "Sena MP Gaikwad books yet another ticket to Delhi, Air India cancels it too". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  5. ^ Shah, Aditi; Menon, Malini. "India plans no-fly list of unruly passengers: Aviation Secretary". Reuters. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Government to issue rules on no-fly list by June 20". The Economic Times. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  7. ^ "No-Fly List full details: These activities will get you banned on a plane in India". The Financial Express. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2018.