Comedian Kunal Kamra was recently banned by Indigo for a period of 6 months following an incident involving Arnab Goswami. Here is a low down of the rules governing such incidents. In the aftermath of an incident onboard an Indigo flight involving Kunal Kamra and Arnab Goswami, IndiGo had announced suspension of Kunal Kamra from flying any of their flights for a period of six months. India’sUnion Minister for Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri also tweeted in support of IndiGo airlines’ action stating that any such offensive behaviourought to be dealt with and has advised other airlines as well to take similaraction. Followingthe minister’s tweet, other airlines like Air India , SpiceJet and Go Air have also announced that they are banning Kunal Kamrafrom boarding their flights until further notice. Theincident and the action by airlines have evoked mixed response from varioussections. But, what does the law say about such incidents? Is the action ofairlines justified and will such an action stand the scrutiny of law? Here is adetailed explainer. New rules framed in 2017 provide for a ‘No-Fly’ list of unruly passengers On 08 September 2017, the Ministry of Civil Aviation unveiled new rules to ‘tackle on-board disruptive and unruly behaviour by passengers’. The then civil aviation minister P.Ashok Gajapathi Raju had stated that these new rules allow for the creation of a national, ‘No-Fly list’ comprising such passengers involved in unruly behaviour. Accordingly, changes were made to Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) , Section 3, Series M, Part VI which relates to ‘Handling of Unruly Passengers’. As per Civil Aviation Ministry’s statement, the revision was made according to the provisions laid out in Tokyo Convention 1963 – ‘Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft’. Theseprovisions are applicable to – Indian operators (Domestic & International),airport operators within Indian territory, all passengers (during the durationof travel within or over India). Unruly behaviour categorised into 3 levels Para 4.9 of these rules provide indicativeclauses under which behaviour of the passengers can be considered as unruly. Any such cases of unruly behaviour by the passengers are categorised under three levels, as specified in Para 4.10 of Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) , Section 3, Series M, Part VI. Internal Committee to be constituted by the airline for reviewing the complaint Airlines are required to have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) which provides specifics about the role of their staff in dealing with unruly passengers at the airport as well as on-board an aircraft. In the case of unruly behaviour by a passenger, the pilot in command is required to assess the situation to check if the cabin crew can control and pacify the situation. In case this is not feasible, the Pilot in command can relay the information to the airline on ground central control. In otherwords, the interim ban on the passenger cannot exceed 30 days while the matteris pending with the internal committee for a decision. Duration of the Ban Para 8.1 providesthe duration of the ban that can be imposed on the passenger based on the levelof unruly behaviour as determined by the internal committee. The names of such passengers will be includedin the ‘No-Fly’ list. Furthermore, passengers can also be covered under the specifications provided in Para 7, which is related to national security. Individuals deemed to be national security threat are barred from flying. Such a list is provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs to the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It has to be noted these names will not be part of the published ‘No-Fly’ list and hence will not be public. ‘No-Fly’ list – a database of unruly passengers The details of passengers who are deemed to be guilty of unruly behaviour by the Airlines internal committee need to be notified to DGCA as well as other airlines. Suchpassengers would be part of a ‘No-Fly’ list that is maintained by the DGCA. Asper Para 6.5, the following details of the person needs to be updated in the ‘No-Fly’list Other airlines can also ban the passengers on the ‘No-Fly’ list for a period mentioned above based on the level of offence. In case of any subsequent offence, the person would be banned for twice the period. Before Kunal Kamra, only one passenger is on the ‘No-Fly’ list As perthe available data, the name of only one passenger is on the ‘No-Fly’ list. Responding to a question in Lok Sabha in July 2018, the government stated that only one personhas been named in the ‘No-Fly’ list, and this was done by Jet Airways.