New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: A day after IndiGo and Air India decided to bar comedian Kunal Kamra from flying on their flights, SpiceJet and GoAir also followed suit and suspended Kamra's flying rights on its airlines. The development comes after he heckled a TV anchor Arnab Goswami on the Mumbai-Lucknow IndiGo flight. Following the IndiGo's decision, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the government was left with “no option but to advise other airlines to impose similar restrictions” on Kamra.
What are the rules?
In 2017, the government had issued rules to prevent disruptive behaviour by passengers and laid down some guidelines. It said the complaint of unruly behaviour needs to be filed by the pilot-in-command and are to be probed by internal committee to be set up by the airline. A decision is made into the matter within 30 days with specification of duration of ban.
The rules for unruly behaviour are categorised into three levels:
Level 1-- Behaviour that is verbally unruly, punished for three months.
Level 2-- Physical unruliness, passenger debarred from flying for up to six months.
Level 3-- Life-threatening behaviour, a minimum of two years in punishment.
As per Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), unruly behaviour on-board aircraft is an offence and punishable act.
The rule came into place after the Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulted an Air India staff on a flight in 2017. Following the incident, some airlines had banned Gaikwad from travelling on their flights but the ban was in effect only for a period of two weeks.
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Shortly, the government started the process of tightening norms to tackle unruly passengers behaviours on board.
Will Kamra be able to fly again on domestic flights in India?
As of now, IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir have suspended Kamra's flying rights. Another domestic carrier Vistara has said that it will review the situation and follow due process.
Even though IndiGo has announced a six-month ban, the final decision on severity and the duration of flight ban on Kamra depends on the airline’s internal committee, must conclude its enquiry within 30 days.