New Delhi: The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has issued a notice to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in response to a rising number of incidents involving disruptive and unruly passengers on flights.
The DCW has called for amendments to the existing guidelines on the safety of women airline passengers, citing a lack of specific instructions on how to deal with sexual harassment committed against female passengers during flights or at airports. The present guidelines also fail to provide information on how to handle drunk or unruly passengers. The DCW has drafted detailed recommendations for the DGCA to ensure the safety and well-being of women fliers.
The DCW Chairperson, Swati Maliwal, expressed her concern about the existing guidelines and the need for amendments to ensure the safety of women fliers. She pointed out that the guidelines do not provide specific instructions on how to deal with sexual harassment on flights or at airports, leaving airlines without clear guidelines for handling such incidents. In addition, the guidelines do not address the issue of drunk or unruly passengers, making it difficult for airlines to take appropriate action.
The DCW's notice comes in response to several incidents that have been reported in the media, including one in which a drunk flier reportedly flashed his private parts and urinated on a 70-year-old woman on an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi. Another incident involved a man urinating on the seat of a woman flier traveling from Paris to New Delhi on an Air India flight. In both incidents, the male passengers were highly intoxicated.
The DCW has taken suo-motu cognizance of the matter and issued a notice to the DGCA, calling for amendments to the guidelines to ensure the safety and well-being of women fliers. The recommendations made by the DCW include guidelines for handling sexual harassment on flights and at airports, as well as procedures for dealing with drunk or unruly passengers.
