The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to develop more comprehensive guidelines to address incidents involving unruly passengers, following a case where a 73-year-old woman was urinated on by a drunk co-passenger aboard an Air India flight in November 2022. The court observed that “something creative” needed to be done to handle such incidents more effectively.
The bench, comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan, was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the woman, who sought directions to the Centre, DGCA, and airlines to frame a standard operating procedure (SOP) for handling such cases. The woman had alleged that Air India and DGCA failed to provide appropriate care following the incident.
The Court observed, “In international flights, entry of inebriated passengers may be controlled but what about inside the flight?” highlighting concerns over the current lack of measures to manage unruly passengers once on board.
Justice Viswanathan shared his personal experience of encountering disruptive passengers during a flight, recounting, “We had a recent experience. Two passengers were fully drunk. One went to the washroom and slept off. The other one who was outside had a bag to vomit. The crew was all women and for about 30 to 35 minutes no one could open the door.”
Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, informed the court that guidelines had been issued in 2023 to address unruly passengers, and airlines had also developed their own SOPs. However, the bench expressed concerns about the adequacy of these measures and urged the authorities to consider more effective solutions.
The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Tanya Srivastava, emphasized the lack of a proper complaint redressal mechanism, adding that the absence of sensitivity from the airline crew exacerbated the trauma. The petitioner proposed measures based on international best practices, such as a system similar to the “Rail Madad” used by Indian Railways for grievance redressal, and stricter penalties for disruptive passengers.
The court also highlighted the need for a more structured approach to handling passenger misconduct, especially for senior citizens, suggesting the implementation of “strategic seating” to minimize such incidents.
The bench has directed the Centre and DGCA to consider these suggestions and modify the existing guidelines accordingly. The matter is set to be heard again in two months.
In the specific case of the woman, the accused passenger, Shankar Mishra, was arrested and later granted bail in January 2023. The court was informed that Air India had been fined ₹30 lakh for failing to report the incident and that the pilot’s license had been suspended for three months for negligence in handling the situation.
Picture Source : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/An_Air_India_flight_at_the_Netaji_Shubhas_Chandra_Bose_Airport.jpg
