E-Paper
DGCA asks airlines to come up with SOP for handling unruly passengers
The DGCA also cautioned that the “impact of distancing and health screening may slow the passenger transit and increase the likelihood of missed connections.”
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked airlines to define standard operating procedures (SOP) for on-board handling of unruly passengers in Covid-19 environment.
It said cabin crews should be made aware of new issues which may be encountered on board including, “passengers refusing to continue wearing masks, increase in disputes between passengers according to their ethnicity of country of residence and increased stress on passengers through airport processes and overall travel experience which may trigger exceptional response inflight to disputes or requests for compliance.”
The DGCA also cautioned that the “impact of distancing and health screening may slow the passenger transit and increase the likelihood of missed connections.”
It also said that fear of infections may cause more disputes between passengers due to non-compliance or poor hygiene etiquette,or the presence of symptoms similar to those associated with Covid-19.
“The handling of on-board unruly passenger should include reiteration of the enforcement mechanism of the operator,” the DGCA said.
“Operator should develop inflight cabin crew training procedures to ensure passengers adhere to health and safety guidelines such as wearing mask/protective gear at all times on board and maintain high levels of hygiene.”
The DGCA advised operators to communicate their policy of handling unruly passengers as widely as possible including but not limited to publishing in their website, during ticket purchase and check-in process.
