Weeks after an Air India pilot tested positive for marijuana, another one of the airline’s pilots was suspended after reportedly failing an alcohol test before a flight from Switzerland on September 6.
The incident occurred during the mandatory pre-flight checks at the Zurich airport.
According to an NDTV report, he was removed from the Air India flight AI 151, which was travelling from Zurich to Delhi. On-ground workers and handling staff at the Zurich airport detected the smell of alcohol and alerted the authorities.
Subsequently, he failed the breath-analyser test. The results of the secondary medical test are awaited.
Officials said he will remain suspended until the results of the final medical examination report are available.
The Zurich-Delhi flight was postponed to the next morning. The co-pilot was later sent back to India as a passenger.
On August 4, a similar incident was brought to light, in which an Air India pilot travelling from Phuket to Delhi tested positive for marijuana. The pilot was flying the Air India flight AI-2379 when it suddenly lost control 300 feet above Odisha.
The Airbus A320neo was carrying 137 passengers and eight crew members. More than 20 passengers and four crew members sustained injuries in the incident. Despite the incident, the aircraft landed safely in Delhi.
"I disclose, for completeness, that I had separately been experiencing sleep difficulty over a preceding period, related to personal circumstances, for which I had been prescribed medication by my family doctor," said the dismissed pilot Sudeep Vashistha.
Air India dropped its 10 per cent random drug testing model following strict oversight from the Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Under the new protocol, the airline has initiated 100 per cent psychoactive substance screening.
"Air India maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any violation of safety, regulatory or company protocols. Any confirmed breach is dealt with firmly, and action in accordance with regulatory requirements and company policy is enforced," the airline said.
It added that it is taking new measures to curb such incidents from happening in the future, including awareness programmes, reinforcement obligations and regulatory expectations.
