No unruly passenger onboard flights should go unpunished: BCAS chief

Unruly passengers should face the law of the land, and no such passenger should go unpunished, aviation security watchdog BCAS chief Zulfiquar Hasan said on Monday.

In recent times, there have been incidents of unruly passenger behaviour onboard flights.

At a briefing here, Hasan said unruly passengers are a serious issue and that FIRs should be filed against them.

"They (unruly passengers) should face the law of the land.... no unruly passenger should go unpunished," he said.

Regulatory actions with respect to unruly passengers are done by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

According to official data, a total of 63 passengers were placed on 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 on 'No Fly List' up to 15.07.2023. The majority of the passengers placed on 'No Fly List' were for the violation related to not wearing masks or not obeying the instructions of the crew members," Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh told the Lok Sabha on July 20.