New Delhi: Amid reports of COVID-19 violations by air passengers, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Saturday said that a passenger violating protocol despite repeated warnings will be treated as "unruly passenger" and may even be debooarded.
In a circular, the DGCA has directed airport officials and security personnel to ensure that no one is allowed to enter the airport without wearing a mask.
This, the regulator, said come as it has been noticed that some travellers undertaking air journey do not adhere to COVID- 19 Protocols' which essentially involves wearing of mask properly and not below the nose during all times of the journey from entering the Airport for departure to exiting the Airport after arrival.
Some passengers have been noticed not wearing their masks properly while on-board the aircraft, it said.
"On board the Aircraft, in case any passenger does not adhere to wearing of mask properly even after repeated warnings he or she should be de-boarded, if need be," the circular said.
"In case any passenger on board an aircraft refuses to wear mask or violates the "COVID-19 Protocol for passengers" even after repeated warnings, during the course of the flight, such passenger may be treated as 'Unruly Passenger as defined in pare 3.1 of Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 3 Series M Part VI (dated 8th September, 2017) and the procedure in respect of handling such unruly passenger as provided in above mentioned CAR shall be followed by the concerned Airline," the DGCA said.
The adherence to above directions shall be ensured by all concerned with immediate effect and strict action shall be taken in case of any violation, it added.