Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal has written to DGCA DG Vikram Dev Dutt asking him to change the current guidelines to prevent sexual harassment and acts of insubordination against women passengers on flights. DCW has noted an increase in incidents of disorderly behavior on flights, particularly recent incidents of drunken male passengers urinating on female passengers. In a letter to the new DGCA, the DCW chief asked for amendments in the existing guidelines to take strict and swift action against unruly behavior of passengers at airports and flights.
The DCW letter states, “The Commission has developed detailed recommendations on the amendments that should be made to the prevailing guidelines so that cases of sexual harassment and disorderly conduct are dealt with strictly on flights and airports.” The DCW chief is asked to consider it within 30 days and report on the action taken.
The Delhi Commission for Women has sent important recommendations to the DGCA to prevent drunken passengers from urinating on female passengers during flights and many other incidents. pic.twitter.com/MudzJVidOG— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) March 15, 2023
The DCW chief cited two specific incidents of harassment and misconduct by passengers on two flights, one on November 26, 2022, where a man urinated on a 70-year-old woman on an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi, and the other on 6 . In December 2022, a man urinated again on an Air India flight from Paris to New Delhi instead of his female passenger.
In both the cases, it was reported that both the persons were heavily intoxicated and the airline did not report the incidents to the DGCA. The Commission took cognizance of these incidents and issued a notice to the DGCA seeking details of the action taken in the above incidents as well as the guidelines issued by the authority to the airlines to deal with such situations.
The DCW found the steps taken by the DGCA unsatisfactory and said, “the recent advisory focuses the attention of pilots and crew members on their specific duties as defined in existing laws and guidelines and does not direct airlines to take specific steps.” prevent similar situations from happening in the future.”
Accordingly, the DCW has proposed multi-point guidelines to amend the existing rules. In one such guideline, DCW recommended “Limit alcohol consumption while flying.” The proposal states, “All airlines should be ordered to limit the amount of alcohol that can be served on a flight per person in business and economy class. This will help prevent people from getting too drunk on flights.”
Another recommendation addresses the use of restraints, “CAR guidance allows restraints to be used on unruly passengers in certain circumstances. SOPs should be developed whereby the crew may consider using restraints against a person engaging in sexual harassment/unruly behavior.” / acting in a state of extreme intoxication if other means to stop it do not work”.