48 passengers placed on no-fly list till July: Govt

The Centre informed Parliament that 48 passengers were placed on India’s 'no-fly list' till July 30 this year due to unruly behaviour. The DGCA rules prescribe bans ranging from three months to over two years based on severit

New Delhi: As many as 48 air passengers were placed on the ‘no-fly list’ this year till July 30, according to the government. Unruly passengers can face flying ban for extended periods depending on the severity of their misconduct.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol has informed the Rajya Sabha that 48 people have been placed on the ‘no-fly list’ till July 30 this year. A total of 82 and 110 passengers were placed on the list in 2024 and 2023, respectively.

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As per the data shared by the minister as part of a written reply on Monday, a total of 63 people were placed on the ‘no-fly list’ in 2022, 66 in 2021 and 10 in 2020.
Under the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) on ‘Handling of unruly/ disruptive passengers’ issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), unruly passengers are categorised into three levels based on the severity of their misconduct onboard an aircraft.

“The duration of ban for Level 1 misconduct is up to 3 months, for Level 2 is up to 6 months, and for Level 3 is a minimum of 2 years or more without limit,” the minister said. In recent weeks, there have been incidents of unruly passenger behaviour.

On August 1, a passenger slapped a co-traveller onboard IndiGo’s Mumbai-Kolkata flight, and the airline has banned the perpetrator from taking its flights. Meanwhile, police have registered a case against a senior army officer for allegedly assaulting and injuring four employees of a private airline at the Srinagar International Airport on July 26, causing a spinal fracture to one of them.

The officer has filed a counter-complaint with the police alleging assault, following which police have registered an FIR against the airline staffers.