DGCA Makes Masks Mandatory On Flights Amid Covid Surge, Violators Can Be Put On 'No Fly List'

The new norms come days after the Delhi High Court, on June 3, called for stringent action against those who refuse to adhere to the Covid protocols.

New Delhi: Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases across the country, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued fresh guidelines for airports and aircraft, on Wednesday. According to the latest Covid norms, masks have been made mandatory at the airports and in the aircraft, and as per the aviation regulator, passengers who refuse to comply can be de-boarded ahead of take-off or be treated as “unruly passengers”, news agency ANI reported.

According to the report, masks have to be worn at the airport premises and in the flight, and they can be taken off only in exceptional circumstances. Those flouting the norms can be put on 'no fly list', the DGCA said. The CISF personnel will be in charge of enforcing the fresh guidelines.

It is to be noted that the new norms come days after the Delhi High Court, on June 3, called for stringent action against those who refuse to adhere to the Covid protocols.

As per reports, the Delhi high court said that all such persons who are found to be violating the Covid norms amid a spike in cases, should be booked and fined, and be placed on the 'no-fly' list.

The high court had asked the DGCA to give directions to all the airlines to authorise the staff at airports and in aircraft, including the air hostesses, pilots, captains, and others, to take strict action against the violators.

"It is necessary for respondents to ensure implementation of norms on ground. For this purpose, DGCA should issue separate binding guidelines authorising staff at airports, flights, captains, pilots etc to take strict action against passengers and others for violating masking and hand-hygiene norms. Such persons should be booked and fined and placed in no-fly list. Let a report on action taken in this regard be placed on record, sometime in July,” the high court order said.

Notably, the daily Covid cases breached the 5000-mark after 93 days on Wednesday, taking the tally to 4,31,90,282, while the active cases rose to 28,857, according to the Health Ministry.

India clocked 5,233 fresh cases and seven fatalities taking the toll to 5,24,715 in the last 24 hours. A surge of 1,881 cases has been recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours, reports said.