DGCA Issues Fresh Guidelines For Air Passengers, Makes Face Mask Mandatory at Airports, Inside Flights

The DGCA further said such passengers will be removed from the aircraft before departure.

New Delhi: Attention air passengers! Not wearing face mask at the airport or inside the flight will attract penalty from authorities now. In view of rising cases of coronavirus in the country, the aviation regulator body DGCA on Wednesday issued fresh guidelines and said the passengers who do not wear masks on flight can be treated as ‘unruly’.

“The airlines shall ensure that all passengers are wearing face masks properly and continue to wear the mask throughout the journey. The face masks can be removed under exceptional circumstances and for permitted reasons only,” the DGCA said in the guidelines.

In the order, the DGCA further said the passengers will be removed from the aircraft before departure if they are found without face mask and not following COVID-appropriate behaviour.

In line with Delhi HC order, aviation regulator DGCA issues new Covid norms for airports, aircraft making masks mandatory throughout the journey, and permits mask removal only under exceptional circumstances. Violators may be treated as 'unruly passengers'.

— ANI (@ANI) June 8, 2022

Giving details, the civil aviation regulator DGCA said the CISF personnel will be in charge of enforcing mask guidelines at the airports. However, the DGCA permitted mask removal only under exceptional circumstances.

“In case, any passenger on board an aircraft refuses to wear mask or violates the ‘Covid Protocol for passengers’ even after repeated warnings, during the course of the flight, such passenger may be treated as ‘Unruly Passenger’,” DGCA said in its latest directives issued in line with Delhi High Court’s June 3 order.

The DGCA said the airlines must ensure that passengers are sensitised on the precautionary measures to be taken by them through their websites, travel agents, call centers, display at airports, assistance booths at the airports, etc.

“The Airline shall make regular announcements for awareness among the passengers on the need to follow Covid appropriate behavior such as hand hygiene, wearing mask, etc. during travel,” the DGCA order stated.

The civil aviation regulatory body further added that the airlines will make arrangement of extra face mask and provide to the passengers, if required.

“The airline shall ensure that in case any passenger does not adhere to above instructions even after repeated warnings, he/she should be de-boarded, if need be, before departure,” the civil aviation regulator added.

The latest order from DGCA comes at a time when daily coronavirus infections in India were recorded above 5,000 after 93 days taking the total tally of Covid cases to 43 million while the active cases rose to 28,857. A total of 5,233 infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours, while the death toll climbed to 524,715 with seven fresh fatalities, the data from Health Ministry updated at 8 AM stated.