Alcohol Testing Mandatory for Pilots on Flights to and from India December 28
At the end of March this year, we ran a post regarding two Indian pilots who failed random breath analyzer tests prior to flying on scheduled commercial flights. Early this month, a story revealed that a total of 24 pilots failed in pre-flight medical examinations as of end of November, proof that pilots are still taking a drink or two and ending up positive for alcohol prior to a scheduled flight.
With the Yuletide season and the expected increase in number of international travelers, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has put its foot down and implemented a no-exception 100% alcohol testing for all pilots who will be flying internationally from India. Alcohol tests are thus mandatory for all pilots of Air India, Jet and Kingfisher.
The same directive holds true for all flights that are coming home to India from a foreign airport; the cockpit crew will be required to pass breath analyzer tests prior to a flight. If an Indian airliner medico is not stationed at a foreign airport, then an international flight is required to have a doctor on board to perform the testing prior to the flight home, following Indian aviation safety laws and not the foreign country’s local rules.
Such a zero-tolerance policy is important. History has proven, after all, how vulnerable the aviation industry is to irresponsible internal acts of the people who are involved in it as well as to external attacks from those with the intention of spreading terror, as evidenced by the repeated use of commercial airliners in attempted and completed acts of terrorism. And the sad thing about it is that innocent civilian lives are caught in the middle of it all.
At present, Indian safety laws only call for random pre-flight breath tests, but that may become more stringent in 2010.
Tags: Alcohol Testing, pilot breathalyzer, pilot testing