Wear mask properly, or be de-boarded, put on no-fly list for 3 months, warns DGCA

Passengers who do not wear their masks “properly” or follow social distancing norms during a flight could be de-boarded or put on the no-fly list for at least three months.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a circular to all airlines, airports and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), to treat passengers who violate the Covid-19 protocol — even after repeated warnings during the course of the flight — as “unruly passengers”.

The DGCA order comes after Delhi High Court this week took suo motu note of the fact that many passengers in an Air India flight from Kolkata to New Delhi on March 5 wore masks below their chin and showed a “stubborn reluctance” to wear them properly.