Can't be proud of no-fly list

India is the first country to have a no-fly list, but should we be proud of this development? The amended Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) regulation, which is already in force, was engendered by the runaway “VIP rage” syndrome afflicting the country. This shaming list was brought upon the country by unruly VIP air travellers like the Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who put up an impossible demand of a business class seat in an all-economy configured aircraft and the Telugu Desam MP Diwakar Reddy, who created a ruckus at an airport when denied boarding since he was late. If they were to repeat their antics, the two can now be banned for a period ranging from three months to a lifetime, with a compulsory 30 day no-fly period until an inquiry is held. It is, however, peculiar that other domestic carriers will not be bound by the no-fly list of any one airline. This is the classic Indian “exception to a rule” dispensation that ruins the true enforcement of discipline.

The regulations do not stop with one lacuna. The staff and crew of airlines are exempted from being featured on such a list even if they are guilty of provoking the “flying rage” in passengers. Airlines tend to often put passengers under stress like in aircraft parked on the apron without air conditioning. The delays could be for genuine operational reasons, but the airline crew can be so unsympathetic as to seem to misbehave with passengers. They can go scot free under the new regulations unless one prefers a complaint to the aviation ministry’s “Air Sewa” web portal or DGCA. Of course, a fair hearing in all such matters is a must before passengers or crew are penalised. Respect for the etiquette of flying must be ingrained in both parties — passengers who throw tantrums over service or delays and air crew who can be too authoritarian in a service industry.