Air Passengers to be Deboarded If Not Wearing Masks, Says DGCA
If passengers continue to violate COVID protocol inspite of warnings, they will be termed "unruly".
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New guidelines regarding COVID-19 norms onboard passenger aircrafts have been formulated by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Passengers will be "de-boarded" from flights if they don't wear masks properly inside the aircraft or don't follow "COVID-19 appropriate behaviour", said the DGCA on Saturday, 13 March.
If the passenger violates these norms repeatedly, in spite of warnings, they will be treated as "unruly passengers", said the aviation regulator.
"It has been noticed that some travellers undertaking air journey do not adhere to 'COVID-19 protocols' which essentially involves wearing of masks properly that is not below the nose during all times of the journey from entering the airport for departure to exiting the airport after arrival", said a DGCA circular dated 13 March, reports Livemint.
"It has also been noted that some passengers after entering the airport do not wear masks properly and also do not maintain social distance while being in the airport premises. Similarly, some passengers have been noticed not wearing their masks properly while onboard the aircraft," the circular added.
On Saturday, India reported its biggest daily spike in coronavirus cases of the year, with 24,882 new infections.
The fresh COVID-19 infections mark the highest 24-hour figure since 19 December last year, boosting the total number of cases in the country to. 11.33 million. India now stands third after the United States and Brazil, in terms of COVID-19 caseload.
(With inputs from Livemint)
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