Air India mulls fine up to Rs 15 lakh on unruly fliers

As the airlines are mulling ways to deal with unruly passengers, Air India has come up with a proposal to impose a penalty of up to Rs 15 lakh on fliers for flight delays.
 
While a fine of Rs 5 lakh is being proposed for causing a delay of one hour and Rs 10 lakh for 1-2 hours, sources said, the national carrier is looking at a penalty of Rs 15 lakh for delays of more than two hours.

The latest proposal comes as the government and airlines are trying to come up with modalities for a no-fly list after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulted an Air India manager over seating arrangements.

Gaikwad is also facing charges of delaying the flight, which was to proceed to Goa, on which he arrived in Delhi from Pune as he refused to alight.

The national carrier is also mulling to provide its managers more power to act under a stricter framework to deal with unruly passengers.

Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani is analysing the draft prepared by the officers on the protocol and a decision would be taken soon, sources said.

If the guidelines are approved without any change, the airport manager would be empowered to take "action" against an unruly flier either onboard or on the ground without waiting for approval of the Chairman and Managing Director.

The airline is also planning to record in detail the exact reasons for delay of flights by changing the format of the log book.