The Air India management’s latest move to penalise unruly passengers who delay flights with a fine ranging from ₹5 to ₹15 lakh, can at best be described as an immature reaction to a serious problem. Besides, some airline staffers and lawyers say the move lacks legal basis. What’s the point, then?

The logic behind the fine is hard to fathom. The figures work if a narrow body aircraft is involved: the hourly cost of operating it costs about ₹3,22,000. The fine roughly corresponds to this sum, but at the lower end of the range. In the case of a wide-body aircraft such as a Boeing 777 or an Airbus A-330, the hourly cost of flying varies from ₹5,17,000 to ₹7,75,000, but the higher end of the fine is way above this. How is this range justified? Incidentally Air India flies both the narrow body and the wide-body aircraft.

This brings up another issue: Does a penalty of a little over 50 per cent over and above the hourly cost of flying the aircraft cover the physical and psychological injury suffered by the Air India staffer assaulted by Shiv Sena MP Ravinder Gaikwad? What if a similar situation arises again? Incidentally, Gaikwad flew on an Airbus 320, the hourly cost of operations of which is about ₹ 3,22,000.

The irony cannot be missed: Air India’s decision to penalise unruly fliers comes days after brave talk by the management — that it would not allow Gaikwad to fly till the MP apologised to the employee. How did its threat fall by the wayside? A direction from the ministry of civil aviation saw the airline withdraw the ban, leaving many Air India staffers rather demoralised. Surely, an apology would have gone a long way in boosting employee morale.

Perhaps, the only way out is to get the domestic civil aviation industry to push the Government to frame proper laws. Rather than resort to knee jerk reactions, we need enduring solutions to mid-flight misconduct.

Ashwini Phadnis Senior Deputy Editor

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