The Supreme Court was hearing a plea of a woman, on whom a male passenger urinated on board an Air India flight in November 2022, seeking a direction from the Centre, aviation regulator DGCA and airlines to frame an SOP to deal with such incidents.
Air India Urination Incident
New Delhi: Two months after the incident came to light, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Centre has handed over rules to the Supreme Court regarding “handling of unruly passengers” cabin safety circulars and recent rules drafted to prevent such incidents.
The Supreme Court was hearing a plea of a woman, on whom a male passenger urinated on board an Air India flight in November 2022, seeking a direction from the Centre, aviation regulator DGCA and airlines to frame an SOP to deal with such incidents.
An affidavit filed through Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati says:
1. DGCA is responsible for carrying out the safety oversight and regulatory functions in respect of the matters specified in the Act or rules made there under.
2. Under the aforesaid provisions, DGCA has been empowered to issue directions relating to the operation, use, possession, maintenance and navigation of the aircraft. Elaborate regulatory provisions had been laid down in Civil Aviation Requirements and circulars issued under the Aircraft Rules, 1937 to deal with handling unruly passengers and other acts endangering the safety or imperilling the safety of aircraft.
3. The subject CAR enumerates and defines that if any passenger’s unlawful/disruptive behaviour on board the aircraft interferes with the performance of duties of the crew members or hampers the ability of the crew members to perform those duties or jeopardizes the safety of the passengers.
4. Recently, DGCA has noticed a few incidents of smoking in aircraft, consumption of alcoholic beverages resulting in unruly behaviour, altercations between passengers and sometimes inappropriate touching or sexual harassment by the passengers on board the aircraft during the flight, wherein post holders, pilots and Cabin Crew members have failed to take appropriate actions. Such incidents have the potential to compromise the safety of aircraft operations.
5. Rules state that the passengers shall be made aware that in case his/her behaviour falls into one of the following categories, he/she is likely to be breaking the law and could be arrested on arrival at the destination, or at any other the pilot/crew chose to land.
6. If any passenger’s unlawful/disruptive behaviour on board the aircraft interferes with the performance of duties of the crew members or hampers Ihe ability of the crew members to perform those duties or jeopardizes the safety aircraft/persons/property on board/good order & discipline on board, cause discomfort to other passengers & crew members, may invite penal action following applicable regulations which are as follows:
a) Level 1: Unruly behaviour (physical gestures, verbal harassment,
b) Level 2: Physically abusive behaviour (pushing, kicking, hitting,
grabbing or inappropriate touching or sexual harassment etc.)
e) Level 3: Life-threatening behaviour (damage to aircraft operating
systems, physical violence such as kicking eye gouging, murderous
assault attempted or actual breach of flight crew compartment
Man Urinates On Female Passenger Of Air India US-India Flight
An inebriated man, who was identified as Shankar Mishra, onboard an Air India flight urinated on a woman co-passenger, a senior citizen, seated in a business class seat on November 26, 2022.
The flight was on its way from JFK (US) to New Delhi when the incident took place.
