9 pilots, 32 from crew suspended over alcohol tests: List of airlines

Those suspended include two pilots and two cabin crew members who failed the alcohol test for the second time, resulting in a three-year suspension.

Two pilots and two cabin crew members have been suspended for three years for failing their pre-flight alcohol tests between January 1 and April 30, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Tuesday. They were among nine pilots and 32 crew members who failed the tests during this period, the DGCA added.

India's aviation regulator DGCA said airlines must ensure that 50% of their cockpit and cabin-crew members are subjected to pre-flight alcohol tests on a daily basis(Reuters)

According to the DGCA, four pilots and 10 cabin crew members of IndiGo, one pilot and five cabin crew members of Go First, one pilot and six cabin crew members of SpiceJet, one pilot of Air India Express and four cabin crew members of AirAsia India failed the pre-flight alcohol tests.

Here's the full list:

Airline-wise breath analyzer test data from January 1 to April 30, 2022.

“During the period of four months commencing from 1st January 2022, the DGCA has carried out 48 enforcements actions for the violations of the various requirements of the Regulation regarding testing of crew for the consumption of the alcohol,” the aviation regulator said in a statement.

"Of these, two pilots and two cabin-crew members have been suspended for a period of three years for being positive for the second time," the DGCA added.

The remaining seven pilots and 30 cabin-crew members tested BA positive for the first time, it added, and were suspended for three months.

In April, the DGCA had restrained 90 pilots of SpiceJet airline from operating Boeing 737 Max aircraft on finding them not properly trained.

The aviation regulator had asserted that airlines must ensure that 50 per cent of their cockpit and cabin-crew members are subjected to pre-flight alcohol tests on a daily basis.

Before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, all crew members were required to undergo pre-flight alcohol tests. When the pandemic struck, the tests were suspended for a couple of months. Subsequently, the tests were resumed but for only a small percentage of crew members.