India issues new penalties for ‘unruly’ airline passengers

Above, an Indigo Airlines cabin crew goes over safety guidelines during a flight. (Reuters)

NEW DELHI: India has issued new norms barring unruly passengers from flying for a minimum of three months to more than two years depending on the nature of the misdemeanor, the government said on Friday.
The government has issued a no-fly list of unruly passengers after a lawmaker admitted assaulting an official from state-owned carrier Air India.
The new rules will be applicable to foreign carriers as well, the government said in a statement, adding that unruly behavior has been categorized in three levels — verbal, physical and life threatening.
“The concept of no-fly is based on safety of other passengers, crew and the aircraft, and not just on the security threat,” the government said.