Seven passengers deboarded from flights for flouting Covid-19 norms

New Delhi [India], March 18 (ANI): Alliance Air, IndiGo and Air Asia have de-boarded seven passengers till now for not following COVID norms and social distancing on board, DGCA officials informed on Thursday.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in a statement, had stated last week that passengers will be de-boarded if they don't wear masks properly inside aircraft or don't follow COVID norms.
On the Jammu-Delhi flight in which passengers were deboarded for not following COVID-19 norms inside the flight, Harpreet A De Singh, CEO of Alliance Air, said "In Alliance Air, safety is first and always first. We have zero-tolerance for violation of safety and security norms."
He further said that passenger safety is Alliance Air's topmost priority. "This adherence is for their own, fellow passengers and their families' safety."
"The airline caters to passengers in all age groups from very young to very old. Alliance Air briefs passengers at every touchpoint, makes regular in-flight announcements. However on constant request, when the passengers did not adhere to the laid down guidelines and could have endangered other fellow passengers, we apprised the concerned authorities," he added.
The DGCA officials have also been told to conduct surprise checks on flights to see the implementation of norms.
DGCA sources indicated that the airline companies will also be penalised if they are not strictly enforcing the norms in the aircraft.
If a passenger violates protocol despite repeated warnings then the passenger will be treated as 'unruly passenger', the aviation regulator said.
"It has been noticed that some travellers undertaking air journey do not adhere to 'Covid-19 protocols' which essentially involves wearing of masks properly that is not below the nose during all times of the journey from entering the Airport for departure to exiting the airport after arrival," the DGCA said.
"It has also been noted that some passengers after entering the Airport do not wear masks properly and also do not maintain social distance while being in the airport premises. Similarly, some passengers have been noticed not wearing their masks properly while on-board the aircraft," the statement added.
As many as 35,871 new Covid-19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative caseload to 1,14,74,605, according to the union health ministry said on Thursday morning. (ANI)