Mumbai, March 13: Seeking to ensure strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols by air travellers, aviation regulator DGCA on Saturday asked airlines to deboard passengers who do not wear their masks “properly” despite repeated warnings.
Also, the watchdog has directed airlines to treat a passenger as “unruly” – for which the rules provide for putting the offender in the no-fly list for periods varying from three months to up to a lifetime – in case the person violates the protocols.
The latest directives from the regulator come against the backdrop of a rising number of coronavirus cases in certain parts of the country even as domestic air traffic is improving.
It also comes days after the Delhi High Court took strong note of a situation of passengers not properly wearing masks in flights.
The court also issued guidelines to all domestic airlines and DGCA for strict compliance, including penal action for offenders and periodical checks of the aircraft.
In a circular issued on Saturday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has also directed the airport operators to ensure that passengers wear their masks and maintain social distancing norms at all times during the air travel.
The DGCA said it has been noticed that some travellers undertaking air journey do not adhere to “COVID-19 protocols”, which essentially involve wearing of masks properly – not below the nose, right from entering the departing airport to exiting from the arriving airport.
Observing that some passengers after entering the airport do not wear their masks properly and maintain social distance while being in the airport, the regulator said that some passengers have been noticed not wearing their masks properly while on board the aircraft.
“On board the aircraft, in case any passenger does not adhere to wearing a mask properly even after repeated warnings, he/she should be de-boarded, if need be, before departure,” the circular said.
“In case any passenger on board an aircraft refuses to wear a mask or violates the ‘COVID-19 Protocol for passengers’ even after repeated warnings, during the course of the flight, such passengers may be treated as ‘unruly’ passengers,” the DGCA said. (PTI)
