149 passengers placed in 'No Fly List' since 2020: Govt informs Parliament

The majority of the passengers placed in “No Fly List” were for violations related to not wearing masks or not obeying the instructions of the crew members.

The government on Monday said 149 passengers have been placed in the 'No Fly List' from 2020 till date as per the recommendations of the respective internal committee constituted by the airlines concerned.

The decision to bar is usually taken in cases of unruly behaviour on flights. Recently, two passengers have been put on the 'No Fly List'.

Besides, the ministry said that it was not considering framing new guidelines for flights to prevent disputes between passengers and airlines.

''During the last three years, from 2020 till date, 149 passengers have been placed in the 'No Fly List' for a period, as per the recommendations of the respective Internal Committee constituted by the airline. In last three years, no such case has been revoked,'' Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has put in place norms norma pertaining to handling of unruly/disruptive passengers in order to ensure safety of the aircraft/persons/property on board and maintain good order & discipline on board the aircraft.

''In the last two years since 2021 including current year, a total of 139 incidents of unruly behaviour were reported to DGCA by various airlines. No gender wise classification of incidents is maintained by DGCA,'' Singh said in a separate written reply.

What is no-fly list

No Fly List is a 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 SoP, as per the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), Section 3-Air Transport, Series M, and Part VI titled "Handling of unruly, disruptive passengers", inter-alia provides:

• A complaint of unruly behaviour from the pilot-in-command is to be referred by the airlines to an Internal Committee constituted by the airline.
• The Internal Committee shall decide the matter within a period of 30 days along with category level of the unruly passenger and duration of ban from flying in terms of the provisions of the CAR.
• Pending decision of the Internal Committee, the concerned airline may ban such passenger from flying for a period not exceeding 30 days.
• The decision of the Internal Committee is binding on the airline concerned. In case the Internal Committee fails to take a decision in 30 days, the passenger will be free to fly.
• The airlines shall maintain a database of all unruly passengers (after decision by the Internal Committee) and inform the same to DGCA/other airlines.
• Based on the information provided by the airlines, 'No Fly List' is maintained by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

During the last three years, license of one pilot has been suspended for the period of 03 months due to his failure to discharge his duties. The case has neither been reviewed nor revoked.