The General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued on Saturday an order for commercial flights indicating that violations of in-flight regulations, including photography, will invite the suspension of that scheduled route for two weeks. The suspension would remain in effect until the airline finishes taking action against those who violate these rules.
“In the event of any violation of Rule 13 of the Aircraft Rules 1937 on any passenger aircraft, the flight schedule for that particular route will be suspended for two weeks from the following day,” the DGCA statement read. The standard cited by the DGCA deals with the conditions of photography and videography on board commercial passenger flights.
The aviation regulator added that despite these regulations, airlines have often failed to follow the rules mainly due to a lack of diligence on their part. “It goes without saying that such deviations result in a commitment to maintaining the highest level of security and, therefore, should not be allowed,” the statement said.
READ ALSO | DGCA seeks IndiGo report for violating social distancing rules on a flight with Kangana Ranaut on board
The new guideline comes shortly after an incident aboard an Indigo flight that recently involved actor Kangana Ranaut, who was traveling from Chandigarh to Mumbai on Wednesday.
The DGCA has asked IndiGo to take “appropriate action” after the regulator discovered an alleged violation of security and social distancing protocols by the media on the airline’s flight between Chandigarh and Mumbai that included Ranaut as a passenger.
“We have seen some videos where the media is too close to each other on board Flight 6E264 on Wednesday. It appears to be a violation of security and social distancing protocols, ”said a DGCA official.
The aviation regulator cited multiple problems with the incident, including those related to on-board photography in violation of aircraft rules 13, the visible violation of Covid-19 protocols and the alleged rebellious behavior of some passengers to aboard the flight.
According to the DGCA rules, an airline can include a “rogue passenger” on its “no-fly list” for a certain period of time after an internal investigation.
A viral video of the incident on Wednesday showed reporters and cameramen from various television channels pushing each other near the front rows to get a comment from Ranaut after the plane landed at Mumbai airport.
The video showed the actor sitting in one of the front rows. According to the video, Ranaut disembarked from the plane without giving any comment to the media on board.
Shiv Sena, who heads the coalition government in Maharashtra and the actor had been embroiled in a bitter war of words after he compared Mumbai to Pakistani-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and said he feared for its safety.
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