New Delhi: The duration of ban under government's draft rules on no-fly list should not be left to the discretion of the airlines, according to experts while an air passenger rights body has called the proposed regulation "vague" and "hurriedly prepared".
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Friday made public amendments to a set of rules on unruly and disruptive passengers and proposed a national-no fly list of such travellers.
"The different categories of unruly behaviour have not been properly defined. The language is very vague. If you say a physical gesture is a level one offence then the rules must clearly explain what constitutes an offensive gesture," said Sudhakar Reddy, founder and national president of Air Passengers' Association of India.
Industry experts say that the duration of the ban should be specified by the government and not left to the airline.
"It appears that the ban duration would be left to the discretion of the airlines. Ideally the duration should be fixed by MoCA or DGCA and then followed uniformly by all airlines," said Amber Dubey, Partner and India head of aerospace and defence at global consultancy KPMG.
Dubey also said that the proposed law should ensure that unruly passengers are not able to obtain a stay order against the travel ban.
He also suggested that the government should specify the compensation a passenger should get if allegations against him are proved wrong. Dubey mooted installation of CCTV cameras in all flights for recording evidence.
"Many people don't know whether they are making a mistake. Many are flying for the first time and are illiterate. These rules have been brought out hurriedly," Reddy added.
He, however, welcomed the redressal mechanism which allows passengers to approach the government's appeals committee to challenge the decision to ban them from flying.
IATA also urged India to ratify the Montreal Protocol 2014 "as soon as possible to enhance the deterrent against unruly and disruptive passenger incidents".
The Montreal Protocol revises Tokyo Convention 1969 and gives greater clarity to the definition of unruly behaviour.
There are also new provisions to deal with the recovery of significant costs arising from unruly behaviour.
The draft rules released by the ministry is an amendment to the existing Civil Aviation Requirement, or a set of rules, on unruly and disruptive passengers.
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