Centre says 37 passengers placed on 'No Fly List' this year till July 15

The civil aviation ministry on Thursday said 37 passengers have been placed in the 'No Fly List' this year till July 15, and the action was taken mainly for not wearing masks or for not obeying the instructions of crew members.

In recent times, there has been an increase in the number of incidents involving unruly air passengers.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh told the Lok Sabha that a total of 63 passengers were placed in the 'No Fly List' during the year 2022 for varying periods as recommended by an airline's internal committee.

"In 2023, 37 passengers have been placed in "No Fly List" upto 15.07.2023. The majority of the passengers placed in 'No Fly List' were for violation related to not wearing masks or not obeying the instructions of the crew members," he said in a written reply.

To a query on whether the government plans to widen the ambit of the powers of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to tackle such incidents, the minister replied in the negative.

"No State wise/ UT wise classification of incidents is maintained by DGCA since the majority of the incidents takes place mid-air during the flight," he said.