Air India says it plans to go ahead with a proposal to hit unruly passengers in the pocket with hefty fines when it leads to flight delays.
It will start fining badly behaved passengers about $7,750 (5 lakh rupees) for delays up to one hour.
A $15,500 (10 lakh rupees) fine kicks in for delays up to two hours, and Air India will issue a fine of $23,260 (15 lakh rupees) for a holdup of more than two hours.
The fines are ‘a symbolic amount,’ rather than based on actual costs incurred for flight delays, AI said.
However, it is unclear whether this proposal will actually fly and exactly how it will be enforced.
According to one unnamed Air India executive, it is designed to appease restive staff members after Air India was forced by the government to overturn a flight ban on MP Ravindra Gaikwad who assaulted a member of AI staff.
"The decision to lift the ban (on Gaikwad) did not go down well with Air India staff who remain upset… we have consequently proposed tough measures to guard against such future incidents," said the Air India executive.
I do not expect such high fines to make it into the rule books. But fines for delaying state-run railway trains are allowed. By a similar logic, it can be extended to the national carrier," he added.
