New Delhi: The Supreme Court Instructed the Center and aviation regulator on Tuesday DGCA Developing guidelines to address unruly air passenger behaviour, stressing the need for “something creative” to deal with such incidents, according to news agency PTI.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Vishwanathan was hearing a plea by a 73-year-old woman who alleged that a male co-passenger had urinated on her while under the influence of alcohol. air india Flying in November 2022. The petitioner sought directions to the Centre, DGCA and airlines to set up a standard operating procedure (SOP) to manage such situations.
The bench requested Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati to guide the authorities concerned in reviewing and updating the existing guidelines in line with international standards.
“We had an experience recently. Two passengers were completely drunk. One went to the toilet and fell asleep. The other one who was outside had a bag to vomit. The crew were all women and around 30 to 35 No one could open the door for minutes. The crew then requested my co-passenger to open the door and take him to his seat, it was a 2.40 hour long flight,” Justice Vishwanathan was quoted as saying. Went.
In May 2023, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Central government, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and all airlines including Air India in response to a petition filed by a woman.
During the proceedings, the woman’s counsel highlighted that while the DGCA in its reply claimed that all necessary measures had been taken, the petitioner had made additional suggestions for improvements. Representing the Centre, Solicitor General Bhati informed the court that an affidavit had been submitted, and guidelines and circulars had been issued to address the issue of unruly passengers.,
The woman had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in March 2023, stating that she was forced to approach the Supreme Court due to the failure of Air India and the DGCA to handle her ordeal with adequate care and responsibility. He cited seven incidents of passenger misbehavior on flights between 2014 and 2023, alleging that the airlines involved did not address these incidents appropriately.
The PIL requested that the Center and DGCA ensure that civil aviation requirements are in line with the highest international standards. It also raised concerns about the lack of clear guidelines for media reporting on such cases, arguing that unverified or fictional coverage of the cases in question could harm both victims and the accused.