Airlines add 51 new passengers to no-fly list for unruly behaviour in 2024

The civil aviation ministry on Monday said 51 passengers have been placed under the no-fly list of airlines for unruly behaviour this year till July 1.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has norms in place for handling unruly/disruptive passengers, including procedures for placing unruly passengers on the no-fly list.

A total of 300 passengers have been placed on the no-fly list in the last five years, including 51 people this year till July 1, according to data provided by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol to the Rajya Sabha.

In 2023, as many as 110 passengers were placed on the no-fly list while the count stood at 63 and 66 in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

As per the data, 10 passengers were placed on the list in 2020.

Adequate regulatory frameworks are in place to ensure safety of the aircraft/ persons/ property/ good order and discipline on board the aircraft and to handle the unlawful/disruptive behaviour on-board the aircraft, the minister said in a written reply.

In a separate written reply, Mohol said airlines' operating costs are dynamic and their individual components vary due to multiple factors, including the price of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) in international markets, foreign exchange rates, duties and taxes.

ATF accounts for about 40 per cent of an airline's operating costs.

According to him, the government facilitated the consultations between airlines and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) on rationalising ATF pricing and the Mean of Platts Arab Gulf (MOPAG) pricing was adopted, bringing more transparency and parity between global jet fuel price and jet fuel price in India.

"This protects airlines from abnormal ATF price fluctuations. Issue of high value added tax on ATF levied by states/Union Territories (UTs) has been taken up with the States/ UTs resulting in reduction of VAT by 19 states/ UTs. Ministry of Civil Aviation has also taken up the issue of inclusion of ATF under the ambit of GST with Ministry of Finance," he added.