DGCA Proposes 30-Day Ban on Unruly Flyers to Strengthen In-Flight Discipline

India’s civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has revealed the draft amendments of the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), which would permit airlines to impose direct flying bans of up to 30 days on disruptive or unruly passengers without seeking the review of the independent committee. As per the reports of the Economic Times of India, the move was proposed in February 2026 and aims to simplify enforcement by enabling carriers to take immediate action in obvious instances of bad behaviour, such as on-board smoking or abuse of safety gear, but still use a structured escalation in cases of more serious abuse. The stakeholder comments are invited until the 16th of March 2026 as part of the regulatory consultation.

Details of the Proposed Norms & Regulatory Changes

The draft posted under Rule 133A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, adopts a ‘zero/zero tolerance’ policy for disruptive behaviour that threatens flight safety or passenger welfare, according to The Economic Times. The airlines would have to prepare and issue Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) explaining how unruly behaviour will be identified, managed, and reported to the DGCA. Under the current arrangements, more restrictions on travel may persist for up to 45 days pending decisions. More serious crimes (Level 1 to Level 4 depending on the severity) are still in the draft CAR, Level 1 (verbal abuse, disruptive intoxication) would come with a ban up to three months, Level 2 (physically abusive conduct) up to six months and Level 3 and 4 (life-threatening acts and cockpit breaches) would receive a minimum of two years.

Compliance Process and Administrative Implications

The suggested regulatory framework imposes explicit compliance obligations on the airlines. Carriers must:

• Develop and introduce SOPs dealing with unruly behaviour;
• Share all the incidents and the results with the DGCA;
• Keep records internally to aid with timely implementation; and
• Make sure that prohibitions that are made under the new 30-day provision are reported inclusively to concerned passengers and authorities.

To protect the principles of due-process, the DGCA has addressed issues concerning the appeal of decisions made based on bans that are lengthy by providing appellate procedures that are provided by the draft. The changes are a proportionate move toward proactive action on safety and order that is led by the airlines, although regulation is maintained in cases where more severe offences are involved.

Key Provisions of DGCA’s Move

(Source: The Economic Times; DGCA draft amendments to CAR)

Balancing Swift Enforcement with Structured Oversight

Recently, cases have involved passengers making false bomb threats resulting in flight diversion and security sweeps, passengers engaging in mid-air fights, and drunken misbehaviour as reported by several airlines. In one of these incidents in January 29, 2026, an IndiGo Flight 6E-586 at Kempegowda International Airport was delayed by almost two hours after a passenger falsely claimed to be carrying explosives when boarding the Bengaluru Ahmedabad flight; the security agencies later discovered it was a hoax and arrested the person. It is on this backdrop that the proposed 30-day immediate ban by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation aims at deterring low-threshold yet operationally disruptive acts. Greater crimes, such as threat to the safety of aircrafts would still undergo lengthy suspensions before being reviewed by the committee members.

Snapshot Overview