Deportees, Travel Documents, Boarding and Escort

Deportees

A deportee is a person who had legally been admitted to a country by its authorities or who had entered a country illegally, and who later is formally ordered by the authorities to be removed from that country. Children of age 12 years or less do not count as DEPA/DEPU.

There are two types of deportees:

• DEPA - Accompanied by an escort.
• DEPU - Unaccompanied by an escort.

Acceptance of deportees is based on rules in IATA Resolution 701 and ICAO Annex 9, Standard 3.49.

The deporting state shall:

• Notify Company of the movement of deportees and their escorts not less than 24 hours in advance of the scheduled departure;
• Provide Company with written information concerning the name, age, gender and country of citizenship of the deportee, and the name and nationality of any escorts.

The information should also confirm that a ‘fitness for travel’ assessment has been made;

• Decide the state to which the deportee shall be removed. This destination shall be clearly indicated in the written removal directions provided to the Company. Nonstop flights should be used whenever possible;
• Ensure that the authorities at any intermediate transit location are advised of transit removal movements through their territory in advance of arrival.

Handling agent/company supervisor shall notify the Commander of the DEPA/DEPU and their escorts well in advance, and the latest at the time of boarding. Commander may request additional clarification of information provided by the State concerning the person being deported and shall be given as much information as is permitted under applicable laws or regulations.

Travel Documents

The passport of an unaccompanied deportee should be transported in an envelope in the flight crew. If the DEPA/DEPU forces the handout of the passport, the passport should be handed to him. Crews have no legal right to withhold the passport and the safety of the flight has the highest priority.

Boarding

The following rules apply:

• The deportee including escort has seating allocation priority over other passengers;
• DEPA/DEPU shall be pre-boarded;
• At the point of the deportee’s boarding, the Commander of the aeroplane, in accordance with domestic law and international conventions, shall assume full authority in respect of refusing or to accept the deportee, when he considers such action to be in the best interest of flight safety. The Commander shall enter the reason for refusing the transportation of a deportee in the Journey Log;
• The seats of deportees and their escorts on the aeroplane should be in the last row.

Escort

Individuals identified as requiring in-flight supervision shall be escorted on the flight by qualified escort personnel. The escort shall:

• Wear civilian clothes;
• Not carry firearms and weapons in the cabin;
• Keep the deportee under surveillance at the point of destination until all entry and inspection formalities have been completed.

Restrictions on Number of Deportees

On normal scheduled flights maximum acceptable numbers of DEPA/DEPU are:

• Maximum number of DEPU is 8 (max. 5 adults and max. 3 children under the age of 14 travelling with them);
• Maximum number of DEPA: each DEPA shall be escorted by at least 1 escort.

Exceptions to this policy, for a specific flight or series of flights, shall be authorised in advance by the Flight Operations Manager.

Inadmissible Passengers

An inadmissible passenger (INAD) is a passenger who is refused entry to a country by the authorities. Entry means the normal permission granted by the respective authorities to a passenger having arrived from another country to move freely about the country.

Note: Difference between an inadmissible passenger and a deportee: The deportee has already entered the country and is than proclaimed undesirable by the authorities.

The inbound carrier (i.e. the airline having carried the INAD passenger to the country where entry is refused) is always responsible for the outbound (i.e. onward or return) carriage.

An INAD who is considered to be a harmless does not require an escort. The number of harmless INADs is not limited.

If an inadmissible passenger physically resists boarding, he/she shall be excluded from the flight.

The handcuffs / shackles shall be untied before boarding. If during flight, an INAD shows unruly behaviour he/she is to be treated as an unruly passenger.

The following persons may escort an INAD passenger:

• A government official;
• A guard service company.

The seats of INAD and their escorts on the aeroplane should be in the last row.

Unruly or Disruptive Passengers

In furtherance of Company policy regarding the treatment of passengers who misbehave on The Company flights, an Occurrence Report form has been produced to cover cases of unruly behaviour, inappropriate use of electronic equipment, and smoking on board.

The Company has a zero tolerance policy with regard to smoking on board and any assault on crew members. In order for the Company to pursue this policy, it is essential that the proper process is followed and the aerodrome authority/police are called to meet the aeroplane on arrival in case of any incident.

Passengers, who are identified as potentially unruly while at the aerodrome, may be excluded from transportation.

Exclusion of a passenger from a flight may become necessary when a passenger shows behaviour which:

• Might cause unacceptable disturbances during the flight;
• Could become a possible threat to other passengers onboard;
• Might interfere with the regular operation of a flight by refusing to follow the instructions of the cabin crew;
• Is obvious for persons intoxicated by drugs or alcohol (exception: medicated and escorted).

For more information about refusal, refer to OM Part A, Chapter 8.

For unruly behaviour and inappropriate use of electronic equipment, the cabin crew are first instructed to warn the passenger verbally with information about possible consequences. If after verbal warnings, the passenger continues to behave contrary to the warnings given, written warning should be issued (Occurrence Report form). The Commander must be informed and the police or security guards may be called. The person filling in the form (CIC) must mark if the passenger obeyed the crew’s requests (commands/instructions) and if the passenger agreed or refused to sign the document (final warning). It is crucial to find witness(es) whenever possible. Filling of Occurrence Report does not necessarily implicate that the police must be called at all times.

For smoking on board and assault of a crew member, the Company has a zero tolerance policy and the written warning is to be issued immediately upon discovery of the offence.

Thereafter, crews should contact the handling agent before arrival if possible, in order to arrange for police to meet the aeroplane. The passenger will then be handed over for further action.

Pilots should not leave the flight deck to deal with any situation involving an unruly passenger. Doing so might compromise the security of the aeroplane and all those on board.

Intoxicated or Drugged Passengers

Same rules apply as for an unruly or disruptive passenger.