Air India Will Start Charging Unruly Passengers $7,000+ for Delaying Flights

Following news of passengers delaying flights — most notably, the United dragging incident — airlines around the world are taking notice. While some here at home have begun changing their policies about compensation and overbooking, one international carrier is planning on going another route. Air India announced this week that it plans to fine unruly passengers who delay a flight.

According to the New Delhi-based carrier, if a passenger is behaving badly and they delay the flight up to one hour, Air India will charge the passenger 500,000 rupees (~$7,750). The more disruptive the passenger, the more Air India will charge. If the actions are enough to delay the flight between one and two hours, the passenger will be charged 1,000,000 rupees (~$15,500). The maximum fine is reserved for those who delay a flight more than two hours — a whopping amount of 1,500,000 rupees (~$23,260).

According to The Times of India, Air India isn't charging these fines to compensate for any damages or loss in revenue, but instead to represent "a symbolic amount" for unruly passengers. The move comes after a couple of incidents of unruly passengers on Air India metal — with government officials. Last month, one parliament member beat a 60-year-old Air India employee with a pair of sandals when he wasn't upgraded. In a separate incident, another parliament member delayed a flight when her mother, who used a wheelchair, refused to move from an emergency exit row.

The carrier says its new policy, which reserves the right to fine passengers, will allow employees to deal with unruly travelers more freely. The move also comes just a couple months after Air India was named the third-worst in the world for its on-time performance. While the Air India product isn't known to be one of the best, perhaps its on-time performance will get a bump with these new rules.

H/T: Fox News