You may be angry or late, but keep calm and carry on, unless you want to get on India’s first no-fly list. Losing your cool, abusing staff or even being drunk beyond acceptable limits could get you barred from flying. Aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju announced that the government has put in place a “mechanism for a no-fly list”. Here’s the summary:

No-fly offence level 1: Unruly physical gestures, verbal harassment and unruly inebriation.

Punishment: Ban up to 3 months

No-fly offence level 2: Physically abusive behaviour (pushing, kicking, hitting, inappropriate touching).

Punishment: Ban up to 6 months

No-fly offence level 3: Life threatening behaviour—assaults, damage to aircraft systems etc.

Punishment: Ban of a minimum 2 years

Who will decide on the ban?

The decision will be taken by an independent committee under a retired District Judge within a period of 30 days of the offence, the minister said.

Significantly, the punishment will be over and above the statutory legal action under existing laws. Effectively, you could end up getting barred and land behind bars.

And most importantly, there will be no VIP treatment. The minister has clarified that the no-fly list will be applicable to “every passenger. No exemptions”.

We still don’t know whether this move is binding on all Indian carriers, or all carriers operating through India. What’s also not known is if this covers incidents only on board aircraft or even on the airport premises.

The clamour for a no-fly list became louder after several incidents of violence on board aircraft. In March, MP Ravindra Gaikwad was in the news for assaulting an Air India employee. Months later, another MP Diwakar Reddy created a ruckus at the airport after being refused boarding at Visakhapatnam airport.