Tackling hot-headed, rude air passengers

Let's put this gently: the Indian traveller doesn't always make for the best airline passenger. Unruly, disruptive behaviour has finally got the airline regulator to act. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has proposed more stringent Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) norms to punish disruptive behaviour on flights in its jurisdiction. These grade misconduct into four escalating levels with punishment - be it travel suspension or a ban ranging from up to 3 mths to 2 yrs. This categorisation of misconduct is a good move.

Appropriate punishment commensurate to the offence is one way to send across a message. A one-punishment-fits-all approach mostly leads to no action against the 'lower order' offences. Empowering airlines to impose an immediate flying ban for up to 30 days, without having to set up a committee, will help discourage some common disruptive acts such as consuming alcohol on domestic flights or smoking/vaping on board.

The proposed norms cover the range of disruptive behaviour that may pose a threat to the safety and security of the flight, its crew and fellow passengers. But it's also about discomfort. There are a host of behaviours air travellers indulge in that demonstrate little regard for fellow passengers - blocking the aisle, littering the craft, messing up the toilet, having phones play videos loudly without earphones or speaking loudly into them before take-off and as soon as the plane lands, treating members of the crew as 'servants'. While the new CAR will help curb egregious lapses, regulating better travel behaviour may require airlines to devise, with DGCA's blessings, incentive-disincentive systems to give plane travellers a belated lesson in civic sense, both in airports and aircraft.