A unified platform for pilots on Monday issued an advisory to its members against the backdrop of the August 4 Air India Phuket-Delhi turbulence incident and the pilot-in-command’s “non-negative” dope test, highlighting the risk of inadvertent false positives from common over-the-counter (OTC) medications and urging the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (India) DGCA to safeguard the confidentiality and dignity of the testing process.
The Airline Pilots’ Association of India referred to the turbulence that left 17 injured and said it resulted in an investigation into the pilot-in-command’s “non-negative” drug test. It underlined the matter is still under investigation, and there appear to be other unreported aspects.
The association said a non-negative screening result is a preliminary flag pending confirmatory laboratory testing and review. “Reporting a screening result as a ‘positive drug test’ or ‘pilot caught using drugs’ before this process concludes is factually inaccurate and unfairly damaging.”
The DGCA rules mandate random psychoactive substance testing of flight crew, air traffic controllers, aircraft maintenance engineers and other safety-sensitive personnel. They apply to scheduled commercial airlines, flight training organisations, air navigation service providers, etc.
In its advisory, the association said widely available, commonly used OTC medications in India contain active ingredients that can trigger a non-negative screening result under the six substance classes tested as per Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR). It added that a non-negative screening result is not proof of drug use; it requires immediate stand-down pending confirmatory testing, but triggers removal from duty, stress, and reputational risk that is entirely avoidable. It advised the members not to self‐medicate.
The association added that common cold, cough, allergy, and sleep-aid formulations sold across pharmacies in India may contain ingredients from the six tested classes. It asked pilots to consult an individual organisation’s medical-in-charge or an aviation medical examiner before consuming any new medication, including seemingly harmless OTC cough syrups, decongestants, or sleep aids, especially in the days preceding a scheduled or random test window.
{{/usCountry}}The association added that common cold, cough, allergy, and sleep-aid formulations sold across pharmacies in India may contain ingredients from the six tested classes. It asked pilots to consult an individual organisation’s medical-in-charge or an aviation medical examiner before consuming any new medication, including seemingly harmless OTC cough syrups, decongestants, or sleep aids, especially in the days preceding a scheduled or random test window.
{{/usCountry}}The association asked pilots to declare all medications on the testing proforma at the time of sample collection, which is a pilot’s first line of protection and is what allows a medical review officer to distinguish legitimate therapeutic use from problematic use. It advised them to avoid poppy‐seed‐heavy foods and festival preparations such as bhang/thandai in the days before flying duty, given their documented potential to trigger non-negative opiate/cannabis screens.
The association asked pilots to retain prescriptions and pharmacy receipts for any medication used, to support the review process if a screening result is non-negative. It emphasised that the CAR ensures that a first‐time positive confirmatory result leads to counselling and rehabilitation, not automatic suspension. “There is no reason for a pilot to conceal medication use or avoid testing out of fear — transparency protects members far more than silence. ALPA India does not support substance abuse of any kind and strongly condemns the same.”
The association appealed to DGCA that details of any aviation personnel undergoing screening, non-negative results, or confirmatory testing must remain strictly confidential between the employee, the organisation’s medical-in-charge, the medical review officer, and the regulator’s Directorate of Air Safety, as per rules.
“No identifying information should reach the public domain, media, or unrelated personnel within the organisation. We urge continued rigour in maintaining chain of custody (CoC) protocols, video recording of screening/splitting, and secure, tamper-proof handling of Samples A and B, so that no pilot’s career or reputation is jeopardised by procedural error.”
It said DGCA must ensure medical review officers are adequately trained, independent, and consistent nationwide in distinguishing legitimate therapeutic use from problematic use, particularly given the number of common medications capable of triggering non-negative screens.
The association cited CAR and said it says there is counselling and rehabilitation on first confirmed positive, escalating only on repeat occasions, which reflects a deliberately corrective, not punitive, philosophy. “ALPA India requests DGCA to actively guard against any organisational or public tendency to treat a first non-negative screening result as equivalent to a confirmed offence or to leak such information before due process.” It appealed to the media to report on drug-testing matters with fairness and accuracy.