Flight passengers who exhibit stubborn reluctance to wear their masks properly, could now get offloaded immediately or be placed in the “no-fly” list, as per a fresh guidelines issued by the Delhi High Court.
“It is made clear that masks should be worn as directed by governmental instructions, covering the nose and mouth, and not worn merely covering the mouth or below the chin,” Justice C. Hari Shankar ordered.
Justice Shankar said he was constrained to pass the order because of an alarming situation, which he witnessed during the Air India flight from Kolkata to New Delhi on March 5, 2021.
“It was noticed that, though all the passengers had worn masks, many passengers had worn the masks below their chin and were exhibiting a stubborn reluctance to wear their masks properly,” the judge said.
He said that this behaviour was seen not only in the bus transporting the passengers from the airport to the flight, but also within the flight itself. It was only on repeated entreaties made by Justice Shankar himself to the offending passengers that they condescended to wear their masks properly.
When the cabin crew was questioned in this regard, they stated that they had directed all the passengers to wear masks, but were helpless in case they did not comply.
“To the perception of the court, such a situation, in the present scenario, when the country is seeing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, after they had shown signs of ebbing, is completely unconscionable,” the High Court said.
“Passengers in a flight are in a closed air-conditioned environment, and, even if one of the passengers suffers from COVID-19, the effect on other passengers could be cataclysmic,” it added.
The court also pointed out that the website of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) does not contain the latest guidelines, issued with regard to in-flight protocol to be maintained by the passengers and the crew.
It directed DGCA to reflect prominently on its website the instructions containing the guidelines for passengers.
As per the fresh guidelines, the in-flight announcements which, presently, merely require the passengers to wear masks at all times, will be modified to include a cautionary word regarding the penal action that could be taken against them in the event of default.
Apart from periodical checks by in-flight crew, the court said DGCA may send random observers on flights, without prior information, who would check to ensure that the COVID-19 protocols are followed in flight.
“In the event of any passenger being unwilling to follow this protocol prior to the flight taking off, the passenger should be offloaded without delay,” the High Court ordered.
