NEW DELHI: Eight months after India enforced a no-fly list (NFL) for disruptive passengers, Birju Kishore Salla - the Mumbai jeweller who created a hijack scare on a Jet Airways' flight last year - has become the first person to be put on the same.
Salla's act of leaving a hijack message in the business class lavatory of a Mumbai-Delhi flight on October 30, 2017, which had forced the plane to divert to Ahmedabad, has led Jet to ban him from flying its planes for five years.
"This is the first case of an Indian carrier putting someone on the NFL. Jet Airways has informed us that after following due procedure, they have banned him (Salla) for five years with effect from November 2017 for breach of security. It is the airline's responsibility to inform other carriers and then it is up to them whether they also put the person on their NFLs. We will continue to maintain a database for such passengers," said a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Despite repeated attempts, Jet did not comment on this issue.
Salla has been banned from flying under the highest level (three) of on-board unruly behaviour that entails grounding from two years to a lifetime. This level covers life-threatening behaviour like damage to aircraft operating systems, serious physical violence and attempted or actual breach of cockpit. Level one covers unruly behaviour like physical gestures. Punishment under this level can be grounding of up to three months. The second level is for physically abusive behaviour like pushing and sexual harassment, where grounding is up to six months. Under each level, grounding time is doubled for subsequent offences.
On October 30 last year, Salla was flying on seat 1A of 9W 339, a Mumbai-Delhi flight. He allegedly left a note in the business class lavatory which read: "9W 339 is covered by hijackers and a/c (aircraft) should not land and (be) flown straight to POK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir). 12 ppl on board. If you put landing you can hear the noise of people dying. Don't take it as a joke. Cargo area contains explosive bombs and will blast if you land in DEL (Delhi)."
The plane was diverted to Ahmedabad where it landed safely. Checks by the bomb disposal squad found no explosive in the plane and that the note was a hoax.