Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Mar 14: In a recent announcement made by the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) passengers who will refuse to wear face masks properly, can be de-boarded or be placed on the no-fly list for three months to two years or more. The DGCA has also warned that the passengers not following Covid-19 protocol even after several warnings will be handed over to security agencies.
The DGCA circular comes days after the Delhi high court took suo moto cognisance and registered a writ petition in this connection after Justice C Hari Shankar found passengers not wearing masks during a flight. The court had said that if a passenger, despite being reminded more than once in flight, refuses to follow this protocol, then action should be taken against the passenger, including placing the passenger on a 'no-fly' regimen, either permanently or for a period of time.
It was found that even after entering the airport, passengers do not wear their mask properly and maintain social distance while being in the airport, along with not wearing the masks properly even when on-boarding.
“Onboard the aircraft, in case any passenger does not adhere to wearing a mask properly even after repeated warnings, he/she should be de-boarded, if need be, before departure. In the case of any passenger onboard an aircraft refusing to wear a mask or violates the ‘Covid-19 Protocol for passengers’ even after repeated warnings, during the course of the flight, such passengers may be treated as 'Unruly' passengers,” the DGCA circular said.
Amid the recent rise in Covid-19 cases, the order was put in place to curb the further spread of the infection. On Saturday, India registered 24,882 new cases and 140 deaths, the highest daily rise in the last 83 days. As many as 26,624 new infections were recorded on December 20.
Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and MP reported 87.72 per cent of the new cases in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra accounts for 63.57% of India’s total active cases.