The Delhi High Court on Wednesday has disposed of its suo motu case of people not wearing masks in a Kolkata to Delhi Air India flight after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) informed that strict action is being taken against people not wearing masks properly.

The DGCA submitted that passengers who aren’t wearing masks properly after repeated warnings would be de-boarded from planes before departure and treated as being “unruly”. The submissions were made before a division bench of the Delhi High Court presided over by Justices Navin Chawla and C. Hari Shankar, who after the said submissions said that it hoped action would continue in the same spirit considering the safety of passengers given the Covid-19 infection.

The bench went on to say that it was initially planning to keep the suo motu matter open for continuous monitoring of the implementation of directions issued by the court earlier, but, after noticing the proactive action by DGCA, it has decided to close the case. The two judges also welcomed the step taken by the DGCA of initiating punitive action against the violators. 

During the course of the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma and Advocate Anjana Gosain submitted on behalf of DGCA that following the directions of the court, the civil aviation body has issued a circular on March 13 relating to strict guidelines to be followed in airports.

“On board the aircraft, in case any passenger does not adhere to wearing of mask properly even after repeated warning, he/ she should be de-boarded, if need be, before departure,” the circular stated.

“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 fight, such passenger may be treated as ‘Unruly Passenger’ as defined… Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR)…and the procedure in respect of handling such unruly passenger, as provided in above mentioned CAR, shall be followed by the concerned airlines,” it said.

Advocate Gosain contended before the bench that in a Jammu to Delhi flight, on March 16, four passengers were declared unruly for not properly wearing masks and were handed over to the security officials while also adding that surprise checks would also be conducted by the authorities. 

“You have done a wonderful job. We are really impressed,” the bench remarked while also directing ASG to ensure that such steps are also taken in respect of other public transport like the railways and buses.

Justice Hari Shankar had on March 8 taken suo motu cognizance of the alarming situation where people travelling from Kolkata to Delhi on an Air India flight did not wear masks. “To the perception of the Court, such a situation, in the present scenario, when the country is seeing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, after they had shown signs of ebbing, is completely unconscionable,” Justice Hari Shankar had then said.

The court had further said that passengers in a flight are in a closed air-conditioned environment, and, even if one of the passengers suffers from Covid, the effect on other passengers could be disastrous.

“It is a matter of common knowledge that being within arm’s length distance of a Covid carrier, even if he is asymptomatic and is merely speaking, is more than sufficient to transmit the virus,” it had said.

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Domestic Flights will start operating in the country from May 25 (Monday), in a calibrated manner. 

The Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted that all airports and air carriers have been asked to be ready for operations from May 25. Yesterday, he said ‘The Ministry of Civil Aviation‘ will issue the Standard operating procedures for passenger movement through flights. Puri had previously also said that the Ministry or Centre alone can not make a decision regarding recommencement of the flights. “In the spirit of cooperative federalism, the govt of states where these flights will take off & land should be ready to allow civil aviation operations,” he tweeted

The Central Ministry of Civil Aviation today has issued detailed guidelines for the Air Passengers after it resumes operations for domestic flights from 25^th May, 2020.

From “Origin to Airport”, following norms should be followed such as: –

Do’s

1. Social distancing and minimum touch.
2. Agreeing to the self-declaration form & Registering on Aarogya Setu App.
3. Digital payments & use of Authorized taxis. 
4. Baggage limitations – Only one check-in bag and one cabin bag allowed. 
5. Vulnerable persons such as very elderly, pregnant ladies, passengers with ailments are advised to avoid air travel.
6. Ensure Web Check-in and obtain a boarding pass. 
7. Passenger to download the baggage tag/baggage identification number, print it and affix it on the bag at a prominent place. 
8. In case the passenger is not able to print the baggage tag, then he/she should mention the PNR number and his/her name on a thick piece of paper and affix it / tag it with a strong string.
9. Before entering the terminal, passenger to ensure that he/she is wearing a mask.
10. Passenger to report at the airport as per revised reporting time i.e. D – 2 hours. 
11. Passenger to travel in an authorized taxi/personal vehicle following the norms specified by MHA. 
12. During transit to airport, the passenger should take all precautions to prevent infection. 
13. Passenger to certify the status of his/her health through the Aarogya Setu App or a self-declaration form.

Don’ts

1. Passenger should not reach the airport late.
2. Passenger should not travel if he/she is staying in a containment zone.
3. Passenger should not travel if he/she mis has been tested positive for COVID-19.
4. If a passenger who is not permitted to fly, undertakes an air journey he/she shall be liable for penal action.
5. The passenger shall give a declaration to the following 
6. I/we am/are not residing in any containment zone. 
7. I/we am/are not suffering from any fever/cough/any respiratory distress. 
8. I/we am/ are not under quarantine. 
9. If I/we develop any of the above mentioned symptoms I shall contact the concerned health authorities, immediately. 
10. I/we have not tested COVID-19 positive. 
11. I/we am eligible to travel as per the extant norms. 
12. I shall make my mobile number / contact details available to the airlines whenever required by them.
13. I understand that if I undertake the air journey without meeting the eligibility criteria, I would be liable to penal action.
14. I/We undertake to adhere to the Health Protocol prescribed by the Destination State/UT.
15. The airlines shall ensure that the boarding pass is issued only after the passenger confirms to the above declaration.
16. In case of a PNR having more than one passenger, the declaration would be deemed to be covering all the passengers mentioned in the PNR.

When “AT THE AIRPORT”, norms to be followed: –

1. Passengers should continue to wear mask throughout the journey.
2. Passenger to get down from the vehicle with the face mask on and with required documents / e-documents.
3. Passenger to arrive at the thermal screening facility near the entry gate.
4. Passenger to get himself/herself checked for temperature and display the status of Aarogya Setu App to the Staff at the entry gate.
5. In case of non-availability of Aarogya Setu, passenger should be facilitated to go to a counter provided by the airport where Aarogya Setu App can be downloaded.
6. Passenger to show his/her identity card, the boarding pass/e-boarding pass to the CISF staff at the Entry Gate.
7. Passenger to proceed to the baggage drop counter and show his/her PNR to the staff. Avoid using baggage trolley, as far as possible.
8. An electronic receipt shall be sent to the passenger.
9. Passenger to adhere to the social distancing which would be specified at the Airports through markings like circle, square or tensor barrier.
10. Passenger to complete the check-in procedure and baggage drop at least 60 minutes before departure.

Guidelines for Air Passengers “AT SECURITY CHECK-IN”.

1. Arrangements have been made at airports to guide passengers to walk through the pre-embarkation security screening.
2. Passenger to follow the directions as announced by the authorities and divest of all metal on the body to facilitate the security screening.
3. Passenger to bring only one hand luggage as per specified size allowed by the airlines.
4. Passenger to cooperate with security staff by following the instructions for his/her own safety and security.

“AT SECURITY HOLD AREA” 

1. Passenger to proceed to security hold area after security screening.
2. While waiting in the security hold area, passenger to maintain social distancing and sanitization protocols.
3. Chairs marked ‘Not For Use’ should not be occupied.
4. While going around F&B, retail outlets, etc, passenger should be aware of the social distancing and maintain hygiene. Also, he/she should be aware of the locations where sanitizers would be made available.
5. Passenger to dispose of all the bio hazardous material like used masks, gloves, tissues etc. in the yellow-colored disposable bins/bags placed at strategic locations at the airport.

“WHILE BOARDING” 

1. Passengers to be attentive towards various communication material displayed at the airport about various health advisories relating to pre-boarding and during the flight precautions.
2. Passengers to collect the safety kit (three layered surgical mask and sanitizer) from the airlines near the boarding gate.
3. Passengers to wear mask and sanitize his/her hands before proceeding to the boarding gate for scanning of the boarding pass.
4. Passengers to be attentive towards boarding announcements and reach the boarding queue by following social distancing.
5. Display of identity cards by passengers is a must & Check-in of the boarding pass would be done by the passenger by self-scanning of e-boarding pass.

“INSIDE THE AIRCRAFT”.

1. During the flight, passengers to strictly follow hygiene and sanitation. Face to face interaction to be minimized.
2. Passenger to minimize the use of toilets and avoid any non-essential movement in the aisles.
3. No queuing at the toilets and only one companion for children and the elderly would be allowed.
4. No meal service in the aircraft. Water bottle to be made available in the galley area or on the seats. Eatables not to be consumed during the flight.
5. No newspaper / magazine will be available, no onboard sale of any item.
6. If the passenger feels uncomfortable, fatigued or has respiratory distress, it should be brought to the immediate notice of the crew.

Guidelines for Air Passengers from “AIRPORT TO DESTINATION”.

“ARRIVAL”

1. The disembarkation from the airlines would be sequential.
2. To disembark, passengers to strictly follow the instructions of the crew.
3. Social distance / sanitation should be maintained at the arrival gate, aerobridges, coaches, jet ladders, ramps etc.
4. Trolleys in the arrival area to be used sparingly.

“BAGGAGE COLLECTION”

1. Passenger to wait at the baggage hold area till the baggage arrives in batches.
2. Transit passengers will not be allowed to come out of the transit area.

“EXIT FROM AIRPORT” 

1. Passengers to hire only authorized taxis from the.
2. Passengers to follow social distancing and hygiene while travelling in any mode of transportation.
3. On arrival at the destination, passengers to adhere to health protocols as prescribed by the destination State/ UT.