Passengers not wearing masks in planes and airports will soon be fined and put on no-fly list

• The Delhi High Court has directed the DGCA to punish passengers not wearing masks or flouting COVID guidelines.
• The punishments include fines and placing passengers on the no-fly list.
• The court was hearing a suo moto petition filed by Justice C Hari Shankar.

The Delhi High Court (HC) while hearing a petition filed suo moto by Justice C Hari Shankar in March last year has directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to issue binding guidelines to enforce mask mandate and COVID protocols at planes and airports.

A bench headed by acting chief Vipin Sanghi reportedly directed the DGCA to come up with guidelines to punish passengers who do not wear a mask or follow COVID protocols such as hand hygiene norms at the airport or while flying on the plane.

Suo moto petition by Justice C Hari Shankar

The Delhi HC was hearing a suo motu petition filed by Justice C Hari Shankar. Suo moto is Latin for “on its own motion”, meaning a call taken by the court itself without a petition being filed by any person or authority.

The petition was filed after the justice noticed passengers refusing to wear masks and follow COVID protocols during his Kolkata to Delhi flight in March 2021.

Punishments include heavy fines and no-fly list

The Delhi High Court has directed the DGCA to issue guidelines and direct its staff at airports, flights, pilots and others to take strict action against passengers flouting the norms.

The court has asked the DGCA to punish these passengers by fining them and placing them on the no-fly list. The court has added that violators should be “physically removed” from the plane if need be.

What is a no-fly list?

A no-fly list is essentially a list of unruly passengers who have been deemed unsafe to fly. It was introduced in India after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad allegedly assaulted an Air India staff over seat allocation.

The persons on the list are banned from flying, either for a specified period or permanently, based on the investigation conducted by the authorities.

The counsel for DGCA informed the court that COVID protocols have not been diluted and the authorities have issued proper directions to implement the guidelines.

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