Airlines placed 247 passengers in 'no-fly' list in last four years

As per the data shared by Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, there was a decline in such passengers to 63 in 2022 but the count rose to 108 last year.

New Delhi: As many as 247 passengers were placed on the 'no-fly' list in the last four years, with the highest number of 108 individuals barred from flying by airlines for unruly behaviour in 2023, according to official data.

Aviation regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has put in place Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) to deal with unlawful/disruptive behaviour of passengers onboard aircraft.

As per the data shared by Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, the number of passengers placed on the 'no-fly' list stood at 10 in 2020 and increased to 66 in 2021.

There was a decline in such passengers to 63 in 2022 but the count rose to 108 last year, the data showed.

According to the CAR, whenever an airline receives a complaint of unruly behaviour from the pilot-in-command, the incident may be referred by the airlines to an internal committee to decide the duration for which the unruly passenger will be banned from flying.

"Based on the recommendation of the concerned airline's Internal committee, DGCA will place the passenger on the 'no-fly list', wherein the unruly passenger is banned from taking flights to/from/within India for a specific period," Singh said in a written reply.