Violent behaviour disastrous for airlines: Govt on Sena MP Gaikwad

NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad is unlikely to start flying again unless he unconditionally apologises for beating up an Air India staffer, following which airlines may revoke the ban.The government is, meanwhile, examining the existing provisions that allow airlines to off-load unruly passengers as they do not specify for how long a person can be grounded for varying types of onboard unsafe behaviours. It is also going to put up a blueprint of a national no-fly list out of public comments “at the earliest“.The normally unflappable aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju set the tone for this tough response to Gaikwad's behaviour in reply to Shiv Sena's demand for getting airlines to lift the ban on the MP.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has a set of rules or civil aviation requirement (CAR) on the issue of unruly flyers. It says a passenger can be arrested for: endangering safety of aircraft and co-passengers; getting drunk or smoking on plane; not listening to commander; abusing and threatening the crew or not allowing them to carry out their duties.“The decision taken by airlines is there. There is lack of clarity in certain aspects of the (unruly flyer) CAR. Once this gets done, thereafter the ministry will decide the further course of action (on the Gaikwad case),“ aviation secretary R N Choubey said.The CAR is silent on how long can airlines ground a person for varying offences as it mainly talks of the airline either not allowing someone on board a flight or the commander directing off-loading of a person from a flight. The decision by airlines like Air India, IndiGo, Jet and SpiceJet to indefinitely ground Gaikwad, therefore, legally falls in a grey area but remains a completely justified one in public opinion.“We are also examining a national level no-fly list and will like to put it out for public consultation very, very soon,“ Choubey said.Meanwhile, the political class is increasingly rallying behind Gaikwad.“This is not the first time politicians have misbehaved on flights. But this is the first time airlines are saying `enough is enough'. The political class sees this as a mutiny against them and are not liking it. AI is state-owned and the government can force it to have the `honourable' Gaikwad back on its flights. But we are not budging unless he apologises,“ said a senior private airline official.