Now, violators will have to pay Rs 5,000 fine at airports

Individuals who violate regulations at airports will now face higher penalties, with state-owned AAI putting in place revised fine amount.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) manages 126 airports. Any person contravening the AAI regulations will face up to Rs 5,000 penalty, a steep hike from the earlier Rs 500, as per the new regulations.

Any continuing offence will attract an additional fine that may extend to Rs 500 for everyday during which such violation continues after "the conviction for the first such contravention".

Under the earlier rules, this amount was just Rs 20 per day.

The revised quantum of fines has been notified by way of amendments to the AAI (Management of Airports) Regulations, 2003.

On Wednesday, AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said that penalties have been increased as the earlier quantum was not appropriate with the changing times.

Asked whether the revision has been effected due to any recent incident involving unruly passengers, he replied in the negative.

"This (amendment) has nothing to do with (any) recent incident. This has been under consideration for some time," he said.

There have been instances of unruly behaviour at airports. Last month, there was an incident involving TDP MP JC Diwakar Reddy as he got into a verbal spat with IndiGo ground staff at the Visakhapatnam airport. He allegedly threw a printer kept at the airline's counter after he was informed that boarding for his flight to Hyderabad had closed.