Delhi High Court asks DGCA to take strict action against passengers who are not wearing masks properly. Justice C Hari Shankar, who had witnessed passengers not wearing masks properly while on a flight from Kolkata to New Delhi on March 5, took a suo motu cognizance of the situation and issued an order to the DGCA for immediate compliance.
In the order passed on Monday, the High Court stated that it was forced to pass the order because of the alarming situation the Judge himself witnessed on the flight. The Judge noticed that many of the passengers had worn masks below their chin and were showing stubborn reluctance to wear masks properly.
The guidelines issued by the court include:
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.
If any passenger is unwilling to follow this protocol before the flight taking off, he or she should be offloaded without delay.
If a passenger refuses to follow the protocol even after repeated requests during flight, action should be taken against the passenger including placing him or her on a ”no-fly” regimen, either permanently or for a stipulated, sufficiently long period.
The in-flight crew shall carry out periodical checks of the aircraft to ensure that passengers are complying with the protocol, especially regarding wearing masks.
Airlines were asked to ensure that written instructions regarding the protocol to be followed by passengers in flight, including the measures that could be taken against them on failure to follow it, are provided to the passengers along with the boarding pass.
The Court also directed the DGCA to prominently reflect on its website the instructions containing the guidelines and protocols to be followed by passengers and in-flight crew in domestic flights.
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