A 62-year-old Pune resident, arrested last Saturday for allegedly harassing a Vistara cabin crew member, may become the first person that an airline in the country recommends for inclusion in the no-fly list (NFL) - a penal listing of unruly fliers announced by the Union civil aviation ministry six months ago.
Vistara said that it had reported the matter to the police on the airhostess' complaint and would wait for the investigation to conclude, on the basis of which it would decide whether to name the Pune passenger for NFL.
According to Sanjay Bhatia, DCP (IGI), on March 24, when a Lucknow-Delhi flight landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, the passenger touched the airhostess inappropriately while exiting the plane.
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"He may have tried this even before alighting. She alerted her seniors immediately and then filed an FIR on the same day," said Bhatia.
No-fly list: Ban may range from 3 months to life
A case under Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code dealing with sexual harassment was registered before the man was freed on bail. The offence is punishable with a maximum imprisonment of three years and a fine.
Under the civil aviation ministry¡¯s guidelines, a person on NFL may be grounded from three months to a lifetime for ¡°unruly physical gestures¡±.
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A spokesperson for the airline, corroborating the March 24 incident, elaborated, ¡°Vistara does not tolerate abusive or unruly behaviour by passengers that puts the safety of its staff and other customers at risk, or compromises their dignity.
We have reported the matter to the police and other relevant authorities. An FIR is registered and investigation is on. We are fully committed to providing our cooperation to all the authorities.¡±
The spokesperson added, ¡°For NFL, we will wait for the investigation to con I- clude, basis which we will decide the next course.¡±
The procedure for invoking the NFL clause requires the pilot in command or captain of the plane on which the unruly behaviour took place to file a complaint with the airline.
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The carrier concerned will set up an internal committee to examine the complaint and decide the matter in 30 days, during which the accused passenger could be banned from flying on the airline.
Once the Directorate General of Civil Aviation puts a person on NFL after this, other airlines may well decide to bar him or her from flying on their craft. However, the decision taken by one airline will not be binding on other carriers.
Last year ¡ª before NFL was implemented ¡ª two MPs, Shiv Sena¡¯s Ravindra Gaikwad and Telugu Desam¡¯s Diwakar Reddy, were hauled up, respectively, for assaulting an Air India staffer and threatening an Indi-Go ground staff. The two had been grounded by all airlines for a short period.